The draft framework on agriculture thrashed out at the ministerial at Geneva is a minor victory for India and Brazil. For the first time, India has been able to get included a clause which will make developed countries like the US and EU cut down domestic subsidies to a maximum of 5 pc of the total value of agriculture produce in a given year. This has been a major demand of India, Brazil and other members of the G20 who had got together at Cancun to impress upon the WTO the need to protect concerns of developing countries. What has also been agreed upon now is the fact that from the very first year the agriculture subsidies capped at 5 pc would have to be cut by 20 pc. While this will not affect subsidy levels with India but countries like the US and those in the EU will have to substantially roll back support to their agriculture sector where India was unable to compete with the prices. Earlier, five core WTO members, including India, had struck an agreement on the thorny issue of farming. The agreement was reached by the US, EU, India, Australia and Brazil after two days of discussions that ended late on Thursday. The five countries had handed their guidance on how to overcome farm rifts to the WTO's chief farming negotiator Tim Groser.

Courtesy: The Indian Express, July 31, 2004

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India software and services industry has continued to remain in the driver seat of the country information technology sector. India success in the software arena is largely attributed to the software industry knowledge and expertise in cutting edge technologies and skilled manpower base. Both these strengths are likely to contribute towards the industry future growth as well. In fact, India prowess in emerging technologies is also helping the software and services industry gain new customers, even in the face of a weakening US economy. There is only one way that the Indian software industry is headed and that is up. The coming years will only reiterate this trend. The export segment, which had logged in revenues of Rs 46,100 crores in 2002-03,accounted for 60 per cent of the total revenue of the IT industry during the same period. The IT software service exports has driven growth for the IT companies during the period 2003-04 and it is expected to continue going forward. Some of the key highlights to signify this are discussed hereunder: Software and services exports are expected to cross Rs 55,510 crores mark or $12.2 billion in 2003-04, a jump of 20.4 per cent in rupee terms and 28 per cent in dollar terms. The domestic sector is expected to grow by 15 per cent to cross Rs 15,400 crores with the packaged software services touching Rs 10,000 crores. The Indian software and services industry continued to focus on North America, which remained the largest market for the sector with exports over 60 per cent. The other key export destinations for Indian software and services companies were Europe and Asia Pacific region. European geography during 2003-04 contributed more than 20 per cent to the software and service exports with the UK, Germany and France accounting for over 75 per cent of Indian exports to the region.

Courtesy: The Asian Age, July 31, 2004

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India will be a significant engine of the global wireless subscriber growth as over 2.5 billion people world over would use mobile phones by 2009, according to a report released by a market research firm. China is the fastest growing mobile phone market at present, but as growth in China begins to slow, India can be expected to pick up the slack and will be a significant engine of global subscriber growth, said the report titled "Growth Returns - Worldwide Mobile Subscriber Forecasts 2004 - 2009" released by market research firm In-Stat/MDR. The report said mobile phone networks worldwide were likely to have 1.6 billion subscribers by the end of this year. The growth rate, which had slowed over the last several years, is expected to quicken as carriers build networks capable of providing low-speed broadband service to subscribers for voice and data services, it said. European subscriber growth will continue to slow, and stall in Scandinavia -- the world's first fully mature wireless market -- and Western Europe. During next five years, subscribers would also move from low-speed networks to high-speed technologies, the report said.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, July 30, 2004

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A renowned economist has mooted the setting up of India's first agriculture port to boost export of rice and other commodities. Though India has emerged a major exporter of food grains since entering the market in December 2000, its products fail to command a competitive price in the international market due to poor quality. "The loss of quality is often the result of antiquated ways of storage in the country's ports," economist and Forum on Social and Human Rights chief Pentapati Pullarao said here. Pullarao, who has petitioned Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar for setting up an agriculture port, said farmers would benefit widely if grain exports fetched better price.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, July 30, 2004

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Details about Indian techies looking for greener pastures abroad are making rounds all over the media. Sure you can believe that, but not before you read this. Our own garden city or better known as the Indian Silicon Valley is home to the largest pool of tech workforce in the world. The city is - The Largest IT Employer - in one place globally, according to MS Shankaralinge Gowda, Secretary, IT & BT, Government of Karnataka. With a huge number of pros pouring in to the city from all over the world, Bangalore is all set to beat California, the Silicon Valley of US recently. Almost a quarter of the 10,000-12,000 foreigners employed in the Silicon Capital of India are part of the IT industry. There is a wide cross-section already. At present, Bangalore has 1,60,000 professionals working in the technology sector and the number is the largest in one place on the planet. While about 1,00,000 professionals work in IT companies, the remaining 60,000 are working in the ITES-BPO sector. The number of working professionals is expected to cross 2,00,000 during the year 2004-05 with many IT and ITES-BPO companies rapidly expanding their manpower. "We are very proud of this achievement and the contribution of the Indian IT Industry," says the beaming official, adding that the city is the perfect model for the IT Industry. As for the city, it has taken one decade to achieve the numero uno position. During 2003-04, the city attracted 168 new software exporting companies and 5 new electronic hardware exporting companies. The city is especially popular among start ups because of the huge manpower available in the city. Bangalore is happening with a capital H. But does it offer comforts? No. Ambience? Yes. Salary jump? Not for all. Knowledge? Yes. Typically, most foreigners seek jobs - if they are not here on deputation - that will enable them to soak in the India and the IT experience for a couple of years. Full of polished young pros with hefty pay packets courtesy the innumerable MNCs in the city Bangalore is the just the place to be. Several companies are setting up operations in Bangalore as it has many advantages and strengths. Availability of large base of education, research institutions, telecom connectivity, quality of life, and better state policy and perception among the investors are the key driving factors. Not only the IT companies, restaurant, pubs and other recreational spots are also making big money due to the increased spending power. The city has a made a distinct plave for itself in the world IT circle that Bangalored' is being used as a noun in the West. To refer to the increasing job shifts westerners are using the word 'bangalored'.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, July 27, 2004

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When the £28 million retail giant Tesco decided to set up its first captive unit outside the UK in Bangalore a few months ago, zeroing in on Meena Ganesh as CEO was one of the easiest decisions to take, considering she was among the first in India to take on the BPO industry with her husband K Ganesh in 2000, when they set up CustomerAsset, which they later sold to ICICI. Ganesh now becomes the first woman CEO in the ITeS sector in India. Her first job after IIM, Kolkata was a seven-year stint with NIIT which she quit as regional head (north India). This was followed by top assignments at Pricewaterhouse Coopers and Microsoft, where she set up the Indian consulting division and was then director, Internet applications unit. And even though as COO at ICICI OneSource she was responsible for scaling up the company's operations to a 4000-strong team, she isn't missing the adrenaline rush of the start-up of which she was a founder herself. "Tesco's Hindustan Service Centre is also a start-up and from buildings to processes, we are setting it all up from scratch. The inputs do come from our parent, but since it's a very old and solid organisation, the corporate values that flow from there are very positive,'' she says about her new job. So what made UK's largest grocery retailer choose Bangalore for its captive centre for both BPO and software development. "The main factors were government support and availability of skillsets and Bangalore provided the right mix,'' says Ganesh who is herself very excited about the shared services business model which brings together two very different employee and corporate cultures with IT & ITeS. While the present staff strength is about 100 now, Tesco has announced plans to scale up 420 soon.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, July 26, 2004

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It's an invasion. And the 'invaders' are swooping down on Bangalore from all over the world. Americans, Brits, Spaniards, Japanese, Polish - all in search of digital nirvana while soaking in the Indian experience. About 108 years ago, a young Winston Churchill came to Bangalore, then a small garrison town where "the sun even at mid-day is temperate and the mornings and evenings are fresh and cool". Within months, he was plain bored of life in the camps. So he read books by the dozens and collected butterflies. Bangalore then was cleaved into two cultures: the Cantonment where the English set up home, and the City where the natives lived. Many many decades later, the generals and foot soldiers of the software revolution from Bangalore have invaded the IT world, putting the city in an imperious position. Today's cosmopolitan Bangalore has a few pockets where you would be forgiven if you think you're not in India. At least so in the software parks, pubs, malls and Em Gees (MG Road). Global Flavour: Digital nirvana is a prime attraction. Almost a quarter of the 10,000-12,000 foreigners employed in the Silicon Capital of India are part of the IT industry. There is a wide cross-section already.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, July 26, 2004

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Now there will be Indian steel in some 7.5bn euro coins in circulation. Jindal Stainless, the country's largest stainless steel making outfit, has bagged an order to supply coin blanks to Monnaie De Paris - the French national mint. France, according to '02 data, produces some 7.5bn - 15% of the total 49.8bn euro coins in circulation. The highest producer of the 8 denominations of Euro coins in circulation is Germany with some 17bn coins or 34% of the total number in circulation. Coins are made using various alloys of metals like nickel, copper and zinc. The metals, in appropriate composition, are melted in furnaces, cast into ingots and passed through rolling mills to reduce them into strips. In itself, coin making is a niche just opening up for business for stainless steel makers around the world. SAIL officials point out that "till '03-04, the Salem Steel Plant has supplied about 33,000 tonnes of coin blanks and 24,000 tonnes of stainless steel strips to the four Indian government mints." Jindal Stainless already supplies AISI 430 grade ferritic stainless steel and cupro nickel coils to the government.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, July 24, 2004

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The $10.1 billion Oracle Corporation, that entered India fifteen years ago to tap the vast skilled base for research and development, is now focusing on tapping the huge potential market offered by domestic majors and MNCs operating out of here. The company is adding 250 people every month to its strength of 6,000 employees for both research and marketing functions. "Our initial investment in India was for research purposes - mainly for exports. We have greatly profited from our investments in India that happens to be our largest R&D operations outside the US. It enabled us to maintain flat growth rates even while our competitors were running losses during the downturn. We were adding resources in research while our competition was laying off people," said Oracle Corp president Charles E. Phillips. "However, we cannot ignore the coming of age of the Indian consumer products market," he added. Phillips, who is on a two-day visit to India, said that the Indian market has acquired the maturity for Oracle to tone up its sales and marketing muscle, partnership network and executive outreach and vie for the domestic clients.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times, July 23, 2004

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Tata Steel has tied up with SAP India, a leading provider of business software solutions to offer business software solutions for the metal industry. This is the first time that Tata Steel has diversified into offering business software solutions. Under the partnership, Tata Steel will offer small and medium sized businesses (SMB) in the metal industry a pre-configured industry specific solution built on the mySAP All-in-One platform. B. Muthuraman, Managing Director, Tata Steel, said, "We are looking forward to extending our relationship with SAP and working together with them jointly on developing and implementing proven business solutions. "Our joint customers would certainly benefit from the more than 30 years of experience that Tata Steel has in using and deploying technologies for business benefits."

Courtesy: The Hindu, July 23, 2004

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The Videocon group is planning to rope in British construction advisor, UK Infrastructure, while bidding for the developing and modernisation rights of the two international airports in Delhi and Mumbai. "We are in talks with UK Infrastructure. We have not yet decided the equity distribution, but the venture will have an equity base of Rs 1,000 crores that would later be hiked to Rs 3,000 crores," Mr V.N. Dhoot, chairman Videocon group said. Ten Indian and international consortia, headed by domestic majors like Reliance, L&T, DLF group, Essel and Videocon, have submitted their expressions of interest for developing the airports to the government on Tuesday, the last day for filing applications. The 10 bidders are: Bharti Changi Airports, L&T-Piramal, Macquire Airports of Sydney, GMR (Bangalore airport developer) with Fraport, GVK (Hyderabad airport developer) with ACSA of South Africa, Reliance Airport Developers, DLF group, Essel group with TAV Group of Turkey, Videocon group with Mythway Airport Corp of Sydney, and DS Constructions, which is building the NH8 with the Jaypee group.

Courtesy: The Asian Age, July 23, 2004

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According some assessments, there are only 5,000 animators available in the Indian market, compared to the demand for over 10,000. It is this supply-gap that Bangalore-based animation raining outfit Toonskool is focusing on. Mr J Rajeeev Choudhary, co-founder Toonskool, told ET that the company would set up 15 franchisee outlets in the next 12-18 months nation-wide. Many centres will be set up in smaller towns and cities, where most of the animation talent can be found. In addition, Toonskool is also working with engineering colleges in Bangalore and other cities to devise a three-year 'animation engineering' programme, which apart from providing students with technical training, will also make them "industry ready," so that they can go live as soon as they are recruited, according to Mr Choudhary. The options for animation professionals are no longer restricted to just pure-play animation studios. Several IT services companies, including Satyam's Nipuna and TCS have kicked-off animation initiatives. The employment potential for animation is massive. According to a recent Anderson study, the Indian multimedia and graphics industry is pegged at around $550 million and is expected to grow to $15 billion by 2008. Within this market, the animation space is expected to grow to $2 billion in three years and employ as many as three lakh professionals.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, July 20, 2004

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Triggered by growth of computer hardware, India's electronic hardware exports jumped 45 per cent in 2003-04 to $1.67 billion against $1.16 billion in the previous year. In rupee terms, the growth was 37.50 per cent at Rs 7,700 crore against Rs 5,600 crore in 2002-03, according to estimates by Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC). Computer hardware exports during 2003-04 shot up by 175 per cent to $313 million from $114 million during the previous year, it said. Export of electronic components also registered 64.62 per cent growth to $816 million against $496 million in 2002-03, an ESC release said. Export of consumer electronics went up by 10 per cent to $179 million from $155 million in the previous year. ESC stressed the need for continuation of fiscal incentives to maintain the pace of growth in exports.

Courtesy: The Pioneer, July 19, 2004

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Software and services export revenue is estimated to have grown 28 per cent in dollar terms to $12.2 billion during 2003-04 with IT-enabled services showing a growth of 54 per cent during the same time. In rupee terms, the software export revenue was Rs 55,510 crore, showing a growth a 20.4 per cent. The IT-enabled servcies-BPO industry is estimated to have grown by about 54 per cent with its export revenue touching $3.6 billion in 2003-04 indicating that the sector is showing upward spiral growth on services lines like customer care, HR, billing and payment, according to the annual report of Department of Information Technology. The Indian IT software and services industry is expected to account for about 2.64 per cent of India's GDP and 21.3 per cent of exports in 2003-04 and is projected to grow to seven per cent of India's GDP and 35 per cent of exports by 2008, it said. India's software and services industry has been projected to reach an export potential of $57-$65 billion for the software and services sector by 2008 which implies a share of six per cent of the global software market. The ITeS-BPO sector export is likely to reach $21-24 billion by 2008, it added. With India becoming one of the most preferred destinations for outsourcing, the number of professionals employed by IT and ITeS sector is estimated at 8.13 lakh by march 2004 of which 2.6 lakh were in the IT software and services export sector and 2.45 lakh in ITeS-BPO sector with 28,000 in the domestic sector, the report said.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, July 17, 2004

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After gradually losing its share to exports in the last decade, the domestic IT market has rebounded with a 24 per cent growth in the last fiscal as against 17 per cent in software exports, according to Dataquest Top 20 survey. Domestic market growth has overtaken software exports' 17 per cent growth. However in terms of size of the market, domestic sector at Rs 33,374 crore in 2003-04 is way behind the export revenue of Rs 40,870 crore, it said. The overall Indian IT industry is estimated at Rs 92,924 crore. If BPO and hardware exports are added to overall IT exports from India then the figure for growth in exports comes to 24 per cent, the survey says. Dataquest quoted Nasscom figures for BPO exports for 03-04 and said they grew 45 per cent as against 59 per cent in 02-03 while hardware exports, which showed negative growth of 14 per cent in 2002-03, increased by 59 per cent to Rs 2,300 crore. BPO exports last fiscal were Rs 16,380 crore. The growth of domestic IT market in 2003-04 compares favourably with the previous year growth of nine per cent while the pace of increase in software exports slowed down to 17 per cent in last fiscal from 26 per cent in 2002-03. In the domestic market, services grew by 26 per cent and hardware by 23 per cent. One of the few areas of decline in domestic market was training industry which showed a negative growth for third year in a row.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, July 16, 2004

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India's richest woman just got richer. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw saw the first-quarter profits of her company, Biocon, shooting up this year taking its share price along with it. Mazumdar-Shaw, who owns 39.6 per cent stake in Biocon, ended Wednesday with a net worth of more than Rs 2,100 crore. As of now, Mazumdar-Shaw's net worth is more than double that of Sudha Gopalakrishnan, wife of Infosys COO Kris Gopalakrishnan. The Biocon chief's personal assets totalled Rs 1,887 crore in April, when her company was listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, making her India's richest woman. Though some of Mazumdar-Shaw's fortune is notional - in that, it could fluctuate according to the price of Biocon shares - she hasn't stopped smiling. Her Scottish husband John Shaw, Biocon's vice-chairman, who holds 22 per cent of the company's stock, also had a smile on his face, though he didn't say anything. Biocon has made an impact on the American and European markets, a factor behind the company's impressive performance. "We are a clear leader in the US and Europe," says Mazumdar-Shaw, whom The Economist once called "India's biotech queen" and the New York Times "India's mother of invention". "This sends a strong signal that India is a global player in the world of BT,'' she adds. Biocon's global success has been powered by the successful entry into the drug markets in Europe and the US.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times, July 15, 2004

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Though India-based vendors represent only a small segment of the worldwide IT services market with 1.4% of the total revenue, their revenues collectively increased 29 per cent, compared with only 4 per cent growth among US-based vendors, says a Gartner report. The worldwide market for IT services grew 6.2 per cent to $569 billion in 2003, up from $536 billion in 2002, says preliminary results from a Gartner survey. Increased outsourcing contributed modestly to the overall growth. During the period, India-based vendors depended almost entirely on exports, with 92 per cent of their revenues coming from customers outside India and only 8 per cent from within the country. The gradual merging of the Indian economy with the global economy is opening up the Indian market for international competition, says Ravindra Datar, principal analyst for Gartner IT services research in India. The study also discovered that vendors based in the US and India were more successful in driving sales outside their local areas. Vendors based in other countries tend to sell primarily in their own country, then expand within their local region. As a result, vendors based in the US and India are more experienced in outsourcing and best positioned for expansion outsourcing.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, July 14, 2004

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Four Indian companies have made it to this year's edition of Fortune 500, the list of the world's largest corporations estimated by sales brought out by Fortune, a distinct improvement from only one last year. Last year, Indian Oil was the only company to feature on the list. The company has now been joined by Reliance Industries (RIL), Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL). In comparison with India's four, 15 Chinese companies figure on the list. In '03, China was on par with India with only three entries. Russia and Brazil have three entries and one entry respectively. Indian Oil, with a turnover of $25,316m in fiscal '04, was ranked 189th. BPCL and HPCL, with revenues of $12,053m and $11,750m, figured at the 450th and 462nd spot respectively. RIL, the first private sector entry from India, comes in at the 482nd spot with sales of $11,327m. India should have had three companies in Fortune 500 last year. HPCL and BPCL should have featured on the '03 list, as pointed out by ETIG last year. These two companies would have come in 488th and 489th respectively last year, as per ETIG calculations. Apart from the increase in sales, they have also been helped by the appreciation of the rupee against the US dollar.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, July 14, 2004

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India's fledgling biotechnology sector, seeking to emulate the nation's software companies, hopes to generate one million jobs and investments of $10 billion by 2010, industry officials said on Sunday. Executives are betting on low-cost, highly-skilled knowledge workers to tap new opportunities emerging in drug discovery, contract research, clinical trials and bio-informatics, which involves the use of software to analyse genetic codes. Bangalore, Karnataka's capital and India's leading technology city, is also positioning itself to become the country's main biotech centre. India's software and back-office service sector, the biotech industry's inspiration, accounted for $12.5 billion in exports and 800,000 workers in the year to March, and expects to grow 30 per cent this year. But the biotech sector has a long way to go. Mazumdar, managing director of India's leading biotechnology company, Biocon Ltd, said that some 5,000 scientific workers were employed in biotech in Karnataka, while the nation as whole employs about 25,000 biotech workers. "Investment in the Indian biotech industry is currently estimated at about $2 billion and is expected to reach about $10 billion by the end of this decade, largely due to multinational collaboration and indigenous research and development efforts," the organisers said in a statement. Many of India's biotech firms are start-ups seeking capital in a risky field, while multinationals are also investing in their own units. In the latest sign of foreign investment, Germany's MWG Biotech AG set up offices in Bangalore a few weeks ago.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, July 12, 2004

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Tractor maker Escorts plans to float a joint venture in China to sell and service tractors in collaboration with a local company. Escorts, which has joint ventures in the US and Poland, will replicate the same model for the Chinese market. The company's proposed move was aimed at tapping the burgeoning Chinese tractor market. The Nandas-promoted Escorts is flush with funds from a spate of divestments in the recent past. In the US, Escorts has joint venture firm Long Agribusiness, which the Indian company's exclusive distributor for agricultural tractors in the US. Long Agribusiness was set up between Escorts through its American subsidiary Escorts Agri Machinery and US-based Long which is controlled by Alvere & Marcell. Bullish on the resurgent tractor market, Escorts has posted a robust 113 per cent sales growth in its agri machinery group during the first two months fiscal over the same period last year, Chopra said. The Indian tractor industry, which grew 50.6 per cent during Apri-May 2004 helped Escorts garner over five per cent market share, Chopra said. Escorts, which produces tractors in the 27-75 horse power range, has sold over six lakh tractors under brand names like Escort, Powertrac and Farmtrac. In Poland, Escorts has a 65:35 joint venture, which company has been using as a platform to sell tractors in a number of European countries. The company has invested about two million dollars in Poland.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, July 12, 2004

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Foreign exchange reserves rose $671million during the week ended July 2 to cross the $120-bn mark, after hovering around $119bn for over a month. According to the figures released by the Reserve Bank of India in its weekly statistical supplement (WSS), foreign exchange reserves including gold and SDR went up $671m to $120bn. While foreign currency assets rose $589m, the value of gold went up $489m during the month. In the banking sector, aggregate deposits mobilised by commercial banks amounted to Rs 15,59,933 crore as on June 25, up Rs 10,637cr over the previous fortnight's. Both demand and time deposits recorded a strong growth, rising Rs 2,125 cr and Rs 8,125cr, respectively.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, July 12, 2004

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India's tech capital continued its surge ahead with 50 IT companies, including 30 foreign firms with 100 per cent equity, setting up shop here during the first quarter of the current fiscal 2004-05. Disclosing this, B V Naidu, director of Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), told reporters that Bangalore continued to attract 2.5 firms every week as against two every week last year. "We have seen a 50 per cent growth in the first quarter over the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal (2003-04). Out of the 30 overseas firms, about 80 per cent (24 firms) are from the US alone," Naidu said on the sidelines of an IT meeting here. The 29 foreign firms are making a combined investment of Rs 6.7 billion and the remaining 20 Indian firms, about Rs 2.3 billion in the first three months of 2004-05. During fiscal 2003-04, Bangalore witnessed phenomenal growth, with the industry growing by 46 per cent in software exports against a national average of 30.5 per cent over the previous fiscal. In rupee terms, firms registered with Bangalore-based STPI have earned a whopping Rs 180. One billion in software exports in FY 2004 against Rs 124 billion in FY 2003 and Rs 99 billion in FY 2002.

Courtesy: The Times of India, July 08, 2004

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Indian software firms are set to post strong quarterly results thanks to increased outsourcing by their customers and stable billing rates, but fatter wage bills cloud their outlook, analysts said. Profits in April-June for sector leaders such as Infosys Technologies and Wipro, which both topped $1 billion in revenue last year, are expected to rise by between 25 and 77 per cent from a year ago, according to Reuters polls. Global giants such as IBM and Accenture have built large employee pools in India, putting pressure on Indian companies competing for the talent. Strategist at Pioneer Intermediaries Sandeep Shenoy said there was pressure to raise wages for middle- and higher-level jobs, where experience was in demand, but entry-level wages were falling as there was no shortage of applicants. Bangalore-based Infosys, India's top listed software services exporter, received a million applications for the 10,000 jobs it advertised in the year ended March. Wipro hired over 9,000 people. India's software and allied service exports grew 30.5 per cent to $12.5 billion in the year ended March, and the industry association expects 30-32 per cent growth in the current year.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times, July 08, 2004

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Finance Minister P Chidambaram presented the Economic Survey on Wednesday, saying the high-growth momentum would have to be sustained. The survey said the accent would be on containing the fiscal deficit and reforming the tax and interest rate regimes, with the manufacturing sector powering the growth momentum. On the macro-economic front, the survey projected a GDP growth rate of 7-8 per cent. It also indicated a higher interest regime and controlling the rising fiscal deficit through reforming the system of tax exemptions and curbing expenditure. Industry figured in a big way in the growth push. A sustained 10 per cent growth rate in that sector was projected as the motor of growth. To achieve this, the survey promised to raise caps on foreign direct investment and open up more sectors to global capital. The survey pinpointed the automobiles, auto components, textiles and engineering industries as the leaders in the gro