Ahmedabad, Oct 01: Commerce Minister Arun Jaitley has said that India would continue to maintain its competitive advantage over China in the services sector in the coming years. Delivering the valedictory address at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit here yesterday, he acknowledged that China was ahead of India in the manufacturing sector owing primarily to better infrastructure and relaxed labour regulations.
Urging states to reform their labour laws, Jaitley said there was a demand from reform-oriented states to transfer powers in case the Centre was unable to implement the needed changes.
Jaitley said Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had assured the Inter-State Council last month that he would set up an Inter-Ministerial Group to facilitate changes proposed by states which fell within the realm of concurrent list.
He said over the last few years India had begun to invest heavily in its infrastructure network which would go a long way in boosting economic growth.

Bureau Report