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November 20, 2008 19:39 IST
BJP's prime ministerial candidate L K Advani warned on Thursday that the country could face an 'economic emergency' unless the government tackles the effects of the global financial crisis with clarity and determination.
"The current economic crisis has instilled uncertainty, insecurity and even fears among all sections of the society, most of all among the poor and the middle classes," he told captains of Indian industry whom he had invited for an interaction on the current situation.
He said it is evident that the crisis has touched all segments of the economy and the society and that it 'could assume the proportions of an economic emergency unless it is handled with determination, clarity of thought and creative new approaches'.
Advani called the meeting with industrialists, weeks after the prime minister convened a similar meeting to understand the impact of the US-born economic crisis on India and its industry in particular.
The crisis has had a telling impact on the stock markets, which has crashed from a high of over 20,000 in January to below 9,000 points now.
Also, the government expects economic growth this fiscal to be in the range of 7-7.5 per cent -- far from the 9 per cent and above it notched for 4 straight years.
The industry leaders briefed Advani about the impact of the global slowdown on them -- especially the high interest rate regime, credit squeeze and demand recession.
Corporate honchos who called on Advani included Bajaj Auto's [Get Quote] Rahul Bajaj, Reliance Industries' [Get Quote] Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group's Anil Ambani, Essar's Shashi Ruia, Bharat Forge's [Get Quote] Baba Kalyani, Jaiprakash Industries' J P Gaur, Assocham President Sajjan Jindal and Ficci's Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
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