''Corporate India can take on the world:'' Kamal Nath

New Delhi, Jan 24 (UNI) Commerce Minister Kamal Nath today said corporate India is now confident to take on the world and the government is creating an investment, regulatory and trade environment at par with the best globally.

He said it was largely the economic reforms which transformed the country's private sector to attain the level it has reached now that it is confident enough to take on the world, he said at the World Economic Forum's session on Global Challenges at Davos in Switzerland.

The country's growth is being driven by many companies which were set up in the 1990s, Mr Nath said.

The growth will be led by IT and communications, modernised automobiles and pharmaceuticals sectors, the Minister said.

Mr Nath said increased openness contributed significantly to growing confidence of Indian companies and removal of controls on expansion allowed many to aspire for global economies of scale for the first time.

Indian globalisation is synonymous with Indian entrepreneurship and the domestic entrepreneurship is the engine that is driving the country's growth, he said, adding that Indian companies are seizing opportunities presented by new technologies and a more open economy.

''Today, thanks to its innovative and entrepreneurial culture India is emerging as a hub for new software platforms, new technology development, engineering design and hi-end outsourcing,'' the Minister said.

The process of globalisation, he said, also led to change of mindsets in the country.

''Indian leadership, both in corporate India and also in the government, is now thinking in much more ambitious terms. Corporates have the cash flows or they can generate the cash flows to think in these terms and they are willing to take the risk of global expansions. This has given us in the government the confidence that they can take on the world.'' Accordingly, the government is creating conditions for them by creating an investment, regulatory and trade environment that is on par with the best in the world, the Minister added.

Speaking on the occasion, leading Indian industrialist Rahul Bajaj said, ''A global mindset is about thinking of the whole world as your arena, being comfortable in interacting with people from multiple cultures, looking at the various markets while strategising, leveraging talent from all cultures, making sure that all cultures are comfortable in your millieu.'' UNI SAA SBA ND1810