Leading chambers of commerce and industry welcomed the Economic Survey and said it had laid down a clear roadmap for achieving an 8 per cent growth target set by the Prime Minister.

"The Economic Survey has rightly identified technology, competition and benchmarking to the best international practices as the three drivers for rapid growth," A C Muthiah, president, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry said.

Ficci also welcomed the emphasis on the agriculture sector as the kingpin for hastening the process of growth.

"We are hopeful that the Budget will address the issue of economising the buffer carrying costs and the procurement costs," Muthiah said.

Ficci welcomed the increase in the non-food credit, which was a sign of recovery in manufacturing activity.

However, the decline in the sanctions and disbursements by the financial institutions indicates that with the spread of universal banking, the importance of project lending is losing focus.

The Confederation of Indian Industry president Ashok Soota said the signs of a recovery in the industrial and services sectors were unmistakable.

While the survey refrains from projecting growth numbers, CII believes that the gross domestic product growth will touch 6 per cent in 2003-04.

Soota also said the industry agreed with the survey's positive assessment of the economy. The survey had rightly identified India's public finance as a key area of concern, said CII, adding that deficits at the Centre and state levels had become chronic with no clear roadmap on how the problem would be resolved.

R K Somany, president, Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) said there was a need to push the process of fiscal consolidation, increase revenue kitty through user charges, phase out tax exemptions and plug evasions.

This had become imperative as the diversion of resources to the government would immediately affect the availability of funds for private investment, leading to a further drop in gross domestic investment in the next fiscal.

Expressing concern over the growth prospects of the economy, P K Jain, president, PHD Chambers of Commerce and Industry said the survey did not reflect a rosy picture with an estimated fall in the gross domestic product growth rate from 5.6 per cent in 2001-2002 to 4.4 per cent in the current year.

Jain said in such a scenario it was important to push requisite internal reforms which would provide an impetus to demand, improve the investment climate and create an atmosphere for growth.

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