UPA govt – still miles to go
With the UPA government completing one year in office, Mr Kamal Nath and his colleagues will perhaps carry on with the work they have started in 2004. I see the ministry taking several bold steps but several issues remain to be touched.

Without doubt India’s presence was felt at the ongoing WTO trade talks where the country emerged as Trouble-shooter No. 1 on several occasions. India managed to pass on the message to the bigwigs when it categorically asked them to shed trade-distorting subsidies if they want future trade talks to be fruitful.

India’s merchandise exports too hit an all time high of US $80 billion during the financial year 2004-05, with the highest ever growth rate of 24 percent in US dollar terms over the previous year’s exports. This indeed is a laudable achievement.

Moreover, the SEZ Bill and the Foreign Trade Policy too came as good news for exim Inc.

However, the ministry has left scope for improvement in certain areas. The two evils – corruption and redtape – need the immediate attention of the authorities to give the exporter the much-needed relief. Mr Kamal Nath along with the other ministries should also focus on completing infrastructure development within stipulated timeframes.

Although I stop short of judging the government’s performance on a scale of 1 to 10, I would definitely say that a lot is yet to be done. I have my fingers crossed!