GOOD DAYS FOR INDO CHAINA ECONOMY

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Friday equated India with China as one of the “two fastest growing economies in the world,” while Union Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath emphasised that the “incredible India” of evocative imagery was also an “incredible” economy on the move now.
They were setting the tone for a series of events organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in association with India’s High Commission here, in the name and style of “Incredible !ndia@60,” as a sequel to similar celebrations in New York last year.
The highlights of Friday’s events in Singapore ranged from a stylised fashion show and a discussion on “India’s Century” to a business conference on the Indian knowledge economy as also the opportunities and challenges of economic engagement in and with India.
CII President Sunil Bharti Mittal said India was poised to become the world’s third largest economy, in real terms, after China and the United States, by 2040. And, by 2035, India would be a $35-trillion economy.
India’s High Commissioner to Singapore S. Jaishankar emphasised that India was navigating its growing economy in an ambience of democracy.
The selection of Singapore as the venue in the Eastern hemisphere for the celebration of India’s 60 years of independence was very appropriate, because the City-State had already become “a key gateway for us.”
On the sidelines of these events, Mr. Kamal Nath, responding to a question on the India-U.S. civil nuclear deal, said: “We are discussing it within our coalition; some last loose ends, some last ironing out with the IAEA is being done. There is a process, and that process is ongoing. Our coalition partners will be looking at what we are going to eventually agree with the IAEA. That is still to be given to them for them to respond. Everything is doable. We only signed it because it is doable