Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has said that Reliance Industries would not have been a global player today had its patriarch Dhirubhai Ambani not taken the "right steps" on government quotas for its chemical plant.
Pawar's comments have come in an interview,that appears in 'Fast Forward', a compilation of his speeches and interview, edited by journalist Aroon Tikekar.
"When Dhirubhai Ambani started his chemical project, the government had spelt out the guidelines pertaining to certain production capacities. When they did not adhere to the guiding principles, they were pulled up in the court of law.
"When I enquired with Dhirubhai, he said categorically that he wanted and aimed to be a global player. If that goal were to be achieved, he said he would not be able to work within the output constraints imposed or suggested by the government," Pawar said in the interview, which was taken by the author in October 2005.
According to Pawar, Dhirubhai had insisted that he would have to break the frames or confines within which he was expected to work.
"Today, the Reliance Petro-Chemicals figures among the top four or five producers of the world. If they had not taken the right steps then, they would not have been able to rub shoulders with the world's best in that field," Pawar said.
He was replying to a query on whether the services sector would be able to meet the growing demand for employment or there was a need for emphasising on the manufacturing sector.
"The services sector is fast expanding, no doubt. But for increasing employment opportunities, requisite and concomitant changes in the industrial sector would have to be undertaken," Pawar said.
He also noted that the work culture and the attitude of the government does affect the productivity and the employment generation potential of most industries.
