Steely resolve

There have been apprehensions, especially in industry and business circles, that the Singur stand-off at the Tata’s Nano plant will send out a negative message about West Bengal in particular, and India in general — that the country is not business and investment-friendly. But not all industrialists feel that way. Certainly not global steel baron, LN Mittal. 

When the media popped the question about trouble in Singur and what it means, Mittal, who has seen tough resistance to his business plans across the globe, said that what is happening in Singur cannot be used to generalise about the investment climate in the country. He has also made light of the delays his own projects are  facing in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. 

He said that Indian remains an attractive option despite the many irritants because it is, along with China, an emerging market whose economic growth is more positive than that of the developed markets of the West. It was a shrewd businessman’s hardnosed assessment. Mittal is not the one to wear patriotism on his sleeves, and he does not let sentimentalism cloud his business decisions. He made it clear that he was coming to India because it makes business sense.

That is the kind of robust sentiment that should send a cheer all round — in West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand. Mittal is digging his heels in because he knows it is a long haul. Contrary to rumours and speculation, the Tatas are not eager to abandon Singur in a hurry. Nor are they likely to yield to the pressure tactics of the Trinamul Congress and its leader Mamata Banerjee. 

India is a tough place, but tough people do not give up on India. There was a time in the early 1990s, in the early years after the economic reforms were unveiled, when it seemed that investors would just walk away at the first hint of political trouble. It did not turn out that way.

Many of them struggled against the bureaucratic red tape and political opposition because they knew that it was in many ways the place to be in when the economy reaches the high tide.

India still remains a business-unfriendly place according to a global survey. It stands at 122, falling behind Pakistan (77), Bangladesh (110), and Nepal (121), according to a World Bank report. What makes India an irresistible market destination is its 300 million and growing, strong, educated middle class and the democratic set-up. Many of them might find China to be an easier place to do business, but they know that India is a better bet because it is an open society.