As I get ready to relinquish the office of the President and usher in my successor, I look back to the year gone by with a sense of gratitude to the God Almighty for having helped me to steer the course of the Chamber in the right direction.

During the Centenary Year the focus of PHDCCI has been primarily on ensuring rapid economic growth of states in our Command area. Towards this end, our Chamber has worked closely with the state governments by organizing state level Centenary Partnership Summits in Madhya Pradesh, J & K, Uttaranchal, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana.

At the National level the Chamber has played a catalytic role to build a consensus on an array of subjects ranging from agri business, economic reforms, governance, industrial relations and labour laws, tourism etc which reflected the key concerns of our constituents.

To coincide with the Centenary Year, the Chamber had some very special programmes which, I am sure, would serve as a memorabilia for the future. The event which could serve as a landmark for the year was, in my view, the release of the postage stamp which is in recognition of our Chamber completing 100 years of service to the community. Equally momentous, indeed, has been the Centenary Managing Committee meeting held at the State Bank of India which, I reckon, brought back nostalgic moments about the times gone by. Some of the other memorable events included the interactive meeting with young Members of Parliaments, Conference on Ushering Governance in Board rooms, lecture by Hon'ble Vaclav Klaus, President, Czech Republic and by Dr Deepak Jain, Dean, Kelloggs School of Management, all of which have succeeded in establishing PHDCCI as a Chamber with a difference.

I have at all times maintained that international business relations have always been an important focus of the Chamber, a trend which has been further reinforced during the year. The Chamber sponsored a business delegation to Myanmar which was aimed at augmenting India-Myanmar economic ties. We were also privileged to receive delegations from several countries during the year. And it is a matter of great satisfaction to me that for the first time this year, the Chamber has forayed into the unchartered area of exhibitions. The Indo-Pak International Expo (IPEX) was organized at Amritsar with the objective of highlighting the products traded by India and Pakistan and was very well received. The exhibition witnessed 1,65,000 footfalls . Around 23 businessmen from Pakistan displayed their products while more than 300 visitors from Pakistan visited the exhibition. Encouraged by our success, we now propose to organize the exhibition annually, alternatively in India and Pakistan.

The socio-economic activities undertaken by the Chamber also deserve a special mention. Consequent to the large-scale devastation wreaked by the Tsunami on 26th December, 2004, the Chamber was proactive in organizing relief to those in distress in the affected areas. PHDCCI contributed over Rs. 1 crore towards the Prime Minister's Relief fund besides donating blankets and other utility items to the victims. Similarly, the Chamber also contributed Rs.30 lakhs to provide succour to the populace affected by the earthquake in J&K. Apart from this, the Chamber also distributed blankets, tents, woolens and medicines to those in need in the earthquake affected areas.

Furthermore, The Chamber's Rural Development and Family Welfare Foundation is implementing various integrated rural development and family welfare projects in northern states in the areas of integrated family welfare and rural development, formal and non-formal education, income generation schemes, training of mahila panchs, water harvesting, social forestry , wasteland development , mother and child care, counseling and prevention of AIDS etc.

I also mention with a sense of pride that the Centenary year was flagged off by the inaugural address by Hon'ble Dr Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister and we hope to close the year with a Valedictory address by Hon'ble Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, President of the country.

I find that the Centenary year of the Chamber has been marked by the continuing resurgence of the Indian economy. The latest economic data suggests a distinct uptrend in the growth momentum in the economy with services and manufacturing being its key bulwarks. What is also noteworthy is that our exports have posted an impressive performance and inflation is contained at moderate levels. But there are glitches as well. The tepid core sector performance and poor fiscal position mar an otherwise happy story. What is more, there are concerns about the slower growth of manufacturing and also that infrastructure gaps are continuing to set limits to capacity expansion. Furthermore, rising interest rates, burgeoning current account deficit and a decline in non debt capital receipts are other areas, which cause unease.

In view of the above, I would take this opportunity to convey, through these columns, that our economic scorecard cannot be maintained, let alone improved unless backed by stronger policy and institutional support. For moving forward our savings and investment rates must go up. Fiscal deficit must be contained and initiatives must be forthcoming in the infrastructure and agriculture sectors. Key to all this is a firm stand on the path of reform and fiscal consolidation. Indeed, it is only a specific agenda of policies which can galvanize the growth process and set us on to the path of prosperity.

Lastly I would submit that this is my last communication to you as I lay down office and we prepare for our AGM. But, before I conclude, I take this opportunity to particularly thank Shri Raghupati Singhania, Chairman, Centenary Committee, Smt. Sushma Berlia , Vice President, Committee Chairmen , my colleagues in the Managing Committee and all of you for providing constant guidance and assistance to co-ordinate the activities of the Chamber during my tenure as President. I must say that members' comments and suggestions have served as invaluable inputs and have contributed, in no small measure, towards the success story of the Chamber during the Centenary year.

At the completion of a very successful Centenary Celebrations year, I extend my sincere thanks to Dr. B.P.Dhaka, Secretary General, PHDCCI, Mr. H.S.Tandon, Advisor Centenary Celebrations Committee and the entire PHDCCI Secretariat for extending their fullest cooperation in making the Chamber's events throughout the year, a grand success.

K. N Memani
President