Rangarajan calls for supremacy in knowledge power to be global power

Jodhpur, Jan 19 (UNI) Prime Minister's economic advisory council chairman C Rangarajan today emphasised the need for creating institutions of excellance to maintain a competitive edge in knowledge.

Speaking at the sixth annual convocation of the Aravalli Institute of management here, Dr Rangarajan said, ''In today's world competition in any field is a competition in knowledge. That is why we need institutions of excellence which will equip our younger generation with the state of art techniques''.

Speaking about how Indian firms could maintain a competitive edge over China, the noted economist said Chinese performed poorly in products that involved flexible manufacturing with high level of product and industrial engineering, multi vendor co-ordination and continuous improvement. India, however, lacked in mass manufacturing capacities, which could be improved by capabilites for design innovations and moving up the value chain.

Calling upon the Indian industry to ''learn to swim in the tempestuous waters of competition away from the protected swimming pools'', he said Indian firms could no longer produce goods and services for the domestic market but had to become global players.

They must be able to meet global competition, he said and added that the search for identifying new competitive advantages must begin earnestly, he said.

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