Comparing the capabilities of India and China in services and manufacturing respectively, Finance Minister P Chidambaram empasised the need to excel in the manufacturing sector.

He said, "China is known as manufacturing hub and India, the service provider to the world. Why it should be so? India should also progress in manufacturing," Chidambaram said at the seventieth year celebrations of engineering and infrastructure major Larsen & Toubro in Mumbai of Friday.

Terming that multinationals operating in India are much more profitable than those in China, he said: "73 per cent of MNCs gave consistent returns to their investors, while those in China gave only 40 per cent to their investors."

Chidambaram had a serious piece of advice to India Inc to restore primacy of manufacturing in the country through increase in its share of country's gross domestic product and higher job creation to employ semi-skilled youth.

"When China can build world's tallest building, largest stadium and deepest harbour, why can not India dream big and scale up its operations," he said and added: "We have 301 projects delayed in the country between one month to 196 months with a cost overrun of Rs 49,967 crore. It is a grave cause for concern," he said.