The path towards self-reliance is a hard but rewarding one. In order to reduce and eliminate the need for external resources to supplement our own investible or foreign exchange funds, we should strive hard on several fronts.
First, a concerted effort should be made to increase over-all production and reduce conspicuous consumption in order to maximise savings. This calls for higher levels of productivity and all round efficiency in various sectors of our economy. It also calls for improved managerial competence and industrial discipline.
Second, even greater efforts are called for to step up our export earning. Not only should we consolidate our position in the export markets for our traditional goods but even more we should build up new and expanding markets for a whole range of engineering and other non-traditional exports. The time has come for us seriously to think of promoting the exports of various items which are not required by the common man even if this means a curb on the domestic consumption of these items by the more affluent sections of our society.
Third, our dependence on a whole range of imported goods and services should be rapidly diminished. We have the necessary potential for developing skills and the technology for the manufacture of a whole range of sophisticated products. In regard to import substitution, our programme should have a three pronged approach. (a) There are a number of products which are now not being made in the country but are being imported for meeting our priority needs. We should develop the domestic manufacture of these items. (b) There are certain other commodities like crude petroleum, steel and fertilisers where domestic production is inadequate to meet demand, and therefore we are compelled to import additional quantities of these items. A concerted effort is called for a better utilisation of indigenous capacity in these fields and for setting up additional capacity in as short time as possible.