Daily News & Analysis
Soros sees India shining Rabin Ghosh Saturday, December 23, 2006 22:48 IST
MUMBAI: Legendary investor George Soros is bullish on India. And a little cautious as well.
Speaking at the PanIIT 2006 global conference, a congregation of over 5,000 Indian Institute Of Technology (IIT) graduates, the chairman of Soros Fund Management and author of The Age of Fallibility, said as an investor, he sees great potential in India.
"The outlook for the year is favourable. The dangers comes from external situations and not internal," said Soros, who is credited for the fall of Bank of England and the Asian currency crisis.
"Up to the next three years, the challenge (In India) is to get greater number of people to benefit the rates of growth. India has to ensure that more and more people enjoy the benefits of growth rather than fewer people.
"In three-to five years, India will have a problem in human resources. India needs an educated population for further growth. You (IITians) support your alma mater but it would be wise to spread out, so that more and more people get elementary education," Soros said, whose networth is estimated to be $8.5 billion. Soros said beyond five years, environment would be the biggest challenge for India's growth.
"After five years, unless you take corrective measures, environment would begin to crimp your growth. I am shocked to see global warming not mentioned in any of your plans," he said, asking developing nations like India and China not to built additional thermal power plants.
Not disclosing his quantum of investment in India, Soros said he had a team on the ground who were scouting for more investment opportunities.
Soros is a major philanthropist supporting civil rights movements.
-- My humanity is in feeling we are all voices of the same poverty. - Jorge Louis Borges