Wednesday, June 4, 2008

India asked to open door to law firms

by Jo Black

Speaking at the roundtable on ” Business Competitiveness in a Globalised World “, organized by the Indo-British Partnership on Tuesday, 22 April 2008, Alderman David Lewis, Lord Mayor of the City of London, sought the entry of foreign law firms into India.

The Lord Mayor also made a strong pitch for more elbow room for multinational banks in India.

Recounting the UK’s experience with liberalization, the Lord Mayor called for dismantling of red tape and roadblocks.

He said the entry of global law firms would allow Indian companies to access world class legal services at lower fee.

The Lord Mayor invited more Indian students to study in the UK and denounced protectionism and double standards. He said that restrictions and red tape are holding back India.

As it is expected that there will be more young people in India than Europe, he said that to provide jobs for them, India needs to further liberalize its economy and promote small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurs.

The Lord Mayor said the City of London is willing to share its experience with India, and that London has buzz, action and attraction because the city has a liberalized economic atmosphere.

He invited Indian investors and workers to the City of London and asserted that a liberalized economy would ensure inclusive development.

Drawing comparisons, he referred to a World Bank study that ranked India abysmally low in terms of ease of doing business in the country.

He commented that UK operations of a particular Indian Bank are larger than that of a foreign bank in India, which has been in India for over 150 years.

Mr Jayant Dasgupta, Joint Secretary, Indian Ministry of Commerce & Industry, in his address, said there is no gainsaying the fact that liberalization is good but the socio-economic conditions in the country warrant a gradual process.

He commented that while foreign banks desire to increase the number of branches in the country, the emphasis also needs to be on penetrating the rural areas.

 

 

 

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