$40 bln FDI target to be achieved; banks insulated from US crisis

New Delhi, Sept 16 (UNI) Despite the US subprime crisis and its impact on the Indian economy, the country will be able to achieve the FDI target of 40 billion dollars this year, Commmerce Minister Kamal Nath said here today.

Mr Nath took a dig at the US financial sector which is paraded as an ideal type for the world to emulate, saying they should first learn to put their own house in order.

''Those who preached us best practices have not helped their own financial sector,'' Mr Nath said in response to a remark that the US financial crisis worsened on the collapse of Lehman Brothers, a global investment bank.

Mr Nath said the Indian banks would not be much affected by the US financial turmoils as their exposure to the global and US markets is small.

Not just India, but the banks of the all Asian economies are protected. This goes to show that best practices have been adhered to in the Asian economy.

However, he said the economic turmoil in the US is causing concern to most of the global economies.

''It still has to be assessed to what extent it will affect the economy in Europe,'' the Minister said.

Mr Nath asked the exporting community to prepare for the new challenges emerging as a result of the global slowdown due to the US financial crisis.

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