UPA Goverment's performance satisfactory: Assocham

New Delhi, Dec 25 (UNI) The performance of the ruling UPA Government at Centre under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is satisfactory both on the internal and external fronts, getting 6.5 marks out of 10.

In a survey conducted by industry body Assocham, based on a random opinion poll consisting of about 300 Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and Managing Directors (MDs) of large, medium and small size industries, Dr Singh led government got 6.5 marks out of 10.

The survey said 65 per cent of the CEOs and MDs voted in favour of the Govenment, keeping in mind the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth to over eight per cent, maintaining export buoyancy by over 50 per cent and taking savings rate to 31 per cent and containing inflation a little over 5.3 per cent.

While, 35 per cent of the CEOs and MDs have rated the current government's performance an average.

However, 85 per cent of CEOs said Dr Singh did all humanly possible during the year on almost all front under coercion of coalition politics and particularly in maintaining an excellent foreign policy with equally balanced approach towards economies of scale and those of developing countries.

It said 55 per cent of CEOs and MDs have hailed the leadership of Dr Singh in handling the nuclear issue with United States of America without any offensive and belligerent approach to some of its nuclear partners.

Resurgence in the global economy will help India touch a figure of 125 billion dollar in exports by end of current fiscal, while the widening trade deficit will be contained provided fiscal reforms and reforms in financial sectors are introduced with aggressive speed, it said.

''Improvement in the investment climate, particularly in the infrastructure sector, both in the rural and urban areas captured attention of the CEOs surveyed by the body,'' Assocham President Anil K Agarwal said.

It said 80 per cent of the CEOs complimented the UPA government for taking the sensex to all time high heights of 14,000 marks, as the capital market maintained almost a steady pace during the whole year 2006, barring an exception of few weeks.

As many as 90 per cent of the industry leaders agreed that the buoyancy in the steel, cement, banking, metals, construction material is a result of the boost given to the infrastructure and housing sectors apart from a global firmness in prices.

The survey said corporate firms in most of the sectors, be it steel, cement, fast moving consumer goods, real estate, manufacturing, retailing, banking, infrastructure finance, hospitality or aviation have remained beneficiaries of the booming conditions in the demand-driven markets.

With big time investments taking off in the construction of roads, bridges, ports and railway, many of the infrastructure companies like Larsen and Toubro and Hindustan Construction have been re-rated among the investment bankers and the stock market.

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