Canadian cos. asked to make India their South Asian hub

Toronto (IANS)- Inviting Canadian businesses to India, Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia Monday said the country could serve as their hub for the South Asian region.

Ahluwalia, who was here with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the G-20 summit, said India has posted a robust growth rate of about 8 percent despite the adverse global economic situation.

Interacting with Canadian businessmen and corporate executives at a breakfast meeting by the Canada-India Business Council here, Ahluwalia said he was hopeful that India's growth rate will touch 10 percent in the next four to five years.He said India has a vibrant private sector and young professional manpower and the sustained growth will turn it into very different country in the next five to 10 years.

Canadian businesses should take advantage of the huge opportunities opening up in India, he added.

Ahluwalia said nuclear deals signed by India with other countries, including the one with Canada inked Sunday, will help it raise its nuclear power generation capacity from over 4,000 MW to 50,000 MW in the coming years.

With India embarking on an ambitious solar energy plan to generate clean electricity, he said Canadian green energy companies should join bids for projects under the plan.

Calling Canada the world's "mining guru", he said the MoU signed between the two countries Sunday will help India exploit Canadian expertise and technical know-how in this vital sector for his country. Private investors and executives from many top Canadian companies, including BlackBerry and Cubex, attended the breakfast meeting.