India wants to be a more productive BRICS partner

BEIJING - India, the world's "back office", is looking to become a more productive partner in BRICS cooperation.

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The service sector has been the driving force of the Indian economy for many years, and it is estimated that the nation's information technology and business process outsourcing industry would grow by up to 18 percent between 2011 and 2012, Som Mittal, president of the National Association of Software and Service Companies, was quoted as saying by India Infotech News.

But, for a country with a population in excess of 1 billion, it is insufficient to be an "office" and depend on the service sector, said Tarun Vijay, member of the Indian Parliament and national spokesperson for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"India has to have a robust manufacturing sector. It has to be a combination of an office and a factory," said Vijay.

"If BRICS is to succeed, all member economies will have to grow and sustain themselves in the forefront of global economic recovery," Vijay said.

As the second-largest economy of the BRICS, India has the capability of being a productive partner in cooperation in all sectors with fellow members of the group, he said.

As the five members of the BRICS are located in different parts of the world, their lack of geopolitical connections is considered to be one of the biggest obstacles to pushing forward their cooperation.

"The BRICS must play a role, and for a start they can reduce this distance between themselves by disseminating and sharing more information," said Vijay.

India is regarded as the world's "back office" due to the prominent role it plays in the service and IT sectors. It now accounts for 50-60 percent of global offshore service outsourcing.

"It is proper to say India is the 'world office' and it will continue to be so," said Rangarajan Vellamore, chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) India Business Forum, China.

India remains the world's leading provider of services following the global financial crisis of 2008, Vellamore said.

"India expects more cooperation with the other four (BRICS countries) on energy and telecommunications."

Large populations and rising economies have made the BRICS countries promising markets, especially after traditional Western markets were hit hard by the global financial crisis, said E.B. Rajesh, chief representative of CII, China.

He added that India expects more market access in the other four BRICS members.

"All five have their own unique strengths - Brazil is famous for its agriculture, Russia for its energy, China for its manufacturing, and South Africa for its natural resources. You can see they all are complimentary," he said.

Former Indian ambassador to France and Germany T.C.A. Rangachari said that BRICS is collective, not running on any single track, adding that the countries need to study from each other and build a consensus.