The business community wants the government to take Immediate and urgent steps to "salvage" the economy from a stagnating situation

The leaders of trade and Industry review the prevailing economic situation with an alarming note.

Six major factors have broadly been Identified by them as the causes of the pre sent economic stagnation They are lack of firm gov ernment action to arrest the plummeting trends In production and investment in major sectors of the economy, ab sence of business confidence, blanket trade liberalisation at the "behest" of the donors, deteriorating law and order situa bon. indecision on the part of the banks and financial instltu Uons. and loss of purchasing power in the rural areas.

The business community also resented strongly the gov ernment's decision to effect pay. salary or wage hikes without considering productivity or efficiency factors

The Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) in its latest review of the overall economic situation stressed the need for immediate government steps to help retrieve the situation. It suggested for undertaking massive public works programme while noting that very little had so far been done to activate the economy through appropriate public investment programmes.

According to the MCC1, generation of business community's confidence in the government and its policies is very crucial. The business community's confidence has been affected as a result of cumulative actions of the government. The government, in our view, has taken, quite unnecessarily, some decisions in recent months which have shaken the confidence of the business community. We strongly urge that business confidence be restored as the first step towards Improvement of the overall economic deceleration. Meaningful communication between the government and the business community should be given top priority", it said.

The MCCI said, the entire balance of payments adjustment strategy hinges on the ability of the economy to notch up a better performance. It. however, stated that there "is a wide-spread feeling that the government has surrendered, without any resistance, many of Its sovereign rights to the donors". "Conditions which cannot be fulfilled should not be accepted. It will - neither satisfy the donors nor help the economy. On the other hand, conditions which are accepted and can be implemented should be taken seriously. Some conditions can be fulfilled without iftodificaUon but many others need to be tndl-genlsed for successful Implementation. The donors should not have any objection because

it will not be possible to look forward to more relaxed import regime unless the economy improves", It pointed out.

The chamber body which represents the most organised trade and industry In the country mentioned about the situation in neighbouring countries. About India In particular, It noted that New Delhi was implementing the donors' conditionalities as its "own economic philosophy and not taken them as unpalatable pills forced down the throat".

Meanwhile, all sections of trade and industry have stressed the need for immediate moves to help Improve the law and order situation which "has direct Impact on the behaviour of the people’.