MUMBAI (Commodity Online): Indian economy is going to take benefits from robust agricultures prospects driven by better monsoon rains this year, said K V Thomas, Minister of State for Agriculture & Consumer Affairs.

The Minister was addressing at Commonwealth Business Forum, 2010, with the theme,” Growth through Global Partnerships” organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) coinciding with Delhi Commonwealth Games.

Companies who have invested in supply chain of farming like contract farming, food processing and packaging will benefit greatly from good agricultural output. Enormous business opportunity exists in agriculture as India has 14 agriculture zones which can provide horticultural and agricultural produce to other countries and can import agricultural inputs, the Minister added.

Good agricultural growth will lead to increased rural spending and give a fillip to the ancillary rural sector too. India will benefit from robust rural demand which will have a cascading effect down the chain. Indian rural market will also benefit from huge spending on infrastructure; India will spend 1 trillion USD on infrastructure, which will again give a huge fillip to the economy. He reiterated that though India faces challenges in growth, but we need to have inclusive growth, with collaborations. This is the time for the world to be in India as India has the growth story all set.

Mr. Rahul Bajaj, Past Chairman, Commonwealth Business Council emphasized the need to form global partnerships as a huge potential exists in emerging markets which can be penetrated. He said that new markets have to be explored, with a mutual benefit model. As all the Commonwealth countries have similar economic and social situations, it’s easier to operate in them. To reach this target South-South cooperation is really required. He reiterated the fact that top 5 out of 10 places to do business are part of Commonwealth. India has emerged as a key source of FDI to UK, which is a reversal of the earlier situation, when UK was having FDI in India.

Mr. Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), said that Indian business is presenting a challenging and interesting opportunity and we will fulfill the objective of increasing trade between Commonwealth countries from 4 trillion USD to 5 trillion USD in the next 5 years.

Mr. Ajay S Shriram, Chairman, CII Business Club India said that the natural outcome of CWG is jump shift in the way Commonwealth countries do business. This lays a strong foundation for forming mutual links which will lead to robust demand. There is a huge potential and private sector should take the lead and act as a catalyst for growth.

For fast growing economies like India, getting international know-how and global marketing capabilities are as important as access to capital. Increased trade between nations increases FDI.

Six experts from Uganda, Scotland, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, and Zambia presented their thoughts and focused on the importance of partnerships for India with these countries for an increased and sustainable growth, mutually benefiting all and providing better livelihood to all.

The forum also featured a session on “Building Business Linkages between India and Commonwealth Countries” addressed by Mr. Chris Parsons, Chairman, India Group, Herbert Smith; Mr. Gregor MacKinnon, Managing Director, Commonwealth Business Council, UK; Mr. Roy Newey, Board Director, A4e.

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