India for continuance of stimulus package: PM

India will seek continuance of the stimulus package that was devised to get the global
economy out of the worst crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s at the G-20 Summit here today pitching at the same time strongly against any attempts at protectionism and advocating reforms of the international financial institutions.
 
Prime minister Manmohan Singh, who leads the Indian delegation at the summit being hosted by president Barack Obama, will voice developing countries views that the advanced countries should return to the trend growth and stabilisation of the banking and financial sectors as it affected exports, capital flows and investment of the emerging economies.
 
Planning commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, who is India's sherpa, national security adviser MK Narayanan, finance secretary Ashok Chawla are among the members of the Indian delegation which attending the summit that which will be attended by world leaders including British prime minister Gordon Brown, German chancellor Angela Merkel, French president Sarkozy among others.

The summit represents 90% of the world's GDP, 80% of the world trade and two-thirds of humanity. The summit is important for emerging economies like India, which have been affected by the global economic crisis not of its making, to tell the world that there was need to continue the stimulus package that was agreed at the Washington summit last November and a decision to pump in $1.1tn was decided at the London Summit in April last. Economies still need a large dose of stimulus for recovery and to return to trend growth, Indian officials say.
 
Officials of the Indian delegation said the continuance of the stimulus package was in the interest of the poor countries and the emerging economies and efforts would be made to impress on the advanced economies that they should not adopt any strategy to exit from it. It should not be "business as usual" for them in view of the green shoots of recovery seen in some economies.
 
India will voice strongly the need for avoiding the temptation to resort to protectionism by the developed countries under the present crisis. "This is an important issue and India will reflect the views of the developing and emerging economies in this regard," the officials said.
 
Singh has said that India would like to see a strong message emerge from Pittsburgh against protectionism in all its forms, whether trade in goods, services, investment or financial flows.

Another important area India would concentrate on is the reform of the international financial institutions and a continuous increase in the capital base of multilateral  development banks to finance the massive infrastructure needs of emerging markets.

The expansion and strengthening of the erstwhile Financial Stability Forum and now the Financial Stability Board and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision was a step in the right direction to address the regulatory aspects, feels India. It wants process of governance reform of international financial institutions to further give greater voice and representation to under-represented countries.
 
India feels G-20 process is a continuing one and it is in its interest to ensure that it succeeds both in its short term and long term objectives.  It feels that the global economy and financial markets have shown a distinct improvement since last year's global meltdown but still it was not out of the woods.
 
The Pittsburgh Summit is expected to focus on medium and long term issues such as a framework for sustainable and balanced growth, strengthening the international financial
regulatory system, reforming the mandate mission and governance of the IMF and development banks, strengthening suppor t for the most vulnerable, an open global  economy and energy and climate change.