I deem it an honour and a privilege to be at the helm of affairs of the Chamber, especially at the time of celebrations of the hundredth year of its inception. The task of steering PHDCCI through the year is indeed challenging. It will be my endeavour to measure up to the high expectations reposed on me, of course with continuing support and cooperation of our members.

The Chamber proposes to celebrate the Centenary in a manner befitting its stature and I look forward to your support for ensuring that the celebrations are memorable and reminiscences remain etched in our mind for a long time to come.

We are all aware that the devastation wrought by the tsunami catostrophy brought the last year to a tragic close. The colossal wave of all round devastation, experienced by countries along the Indian Ocean Coastline, is beyond what words can describe. The Chamber is with our unfortunate brethren in these trying times and pledges all possible support to provide succour to those in distress. Over Rs. 90 lakhs have already been received from members, and presented to the Prime Minister for the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund. A large number of members have also taken up relief work and directly contributed to the fund. The Chamber appeals to members to donate generously towards this noble cause.

And yet there is a surge of hope also that has wafted in the New Year. The economy is vaulted a remarkable performance with the healthy 7% growth in the first half of this fiscal as compared to 6.9% during the same period last year.

Besides, the stock market is vibrant, investments are picking up, credit off-take is on the rise, current account is in deficit signaling a rise in absorptive capacity of goods and services and business confidence is upbeat. Doubtless, the second quarter growth figures, at 6.6 % as compared to 8.6 % recorded during the same quarter last year shows that the economy may not be in as fine a shape it was this time last year.

But its fundamentals remain strong- with industrial growth on track. Though lower agriculture growth and inflation are a matter of concern, the present momentum of growth raises our hopes that year 2005 would also bring good economic news all-round. The current situation can be summed up aptly by the following quote of Charles Dickens: "Those were the best of the times. Those were the worst of times".

The present wave of hope generated by our resurgent economic performance has given rise to renewed optimism that we would surmount our present travails to once again ride on the crest of fortune and happiness. I say this because of the resilience of our nation against natural disasters, which has been repeatedly tested at critical junctures.

However we should not lose this opportunity to address the constraints in economic policy that lie ahead and prevent us from reaching our full potential. We would once again reiterate the need to accelerate the pace of reform that would unleash the latent energy and unshackle the productive and creative capacity of millions of people. We possess an enormous potential to create wealth, which if unraveled, would help us eventually to wipe out the scourge of poverty from our country and lead us towards prosperity by the end of this decade.

The focus for the year would be to provide proactive support to the Centre and the State Governments for "Good Governance".

(K N Memani)
President