Speaking to The Indian Express, Sinha expressed his agreement with the view of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee that harsh measures were needed to streamline the economy.

Sinha, who will be leaving for Washington to attend the spring summit of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Saturday, also said that he would try his best to woo foreign investment in his interaction with the industrialists in the US and UK.

Replying to the role of financial institution nominees on the boards of the public limited companies, especially that of Sterlite, Indal, Shaw Wallace and ITC, Sinha said that he would be looking into the whole matter soon.

As far as the NBFCs were concerned, he said that "myministry will deeply study the issue of NBFC frauds" and would do everything to protect the interest of small investors.

The finance ministry also hinted at harsh measures in the final budget to be presented sometime in May. Without disclosing steps he had in mind, the ministry said that "we will show it in the budget." Prime minister Vajpayee had earlier said that some harsh measures would have to be taken to streamline the economy and Sinha appeared to be in full agreement with the the former.

However, the finance minister said "we will ensure that all eligible pay the taxes". At the same time, Sinha said that the he would respect the promise made previous government with regard to VDIS and "we have no intention to target declarants."

Referring to his first foreign tour after taking over as the finance minister, he said that, "I propose to meet foreigners who are interested in investing in India. I will meet them in Washington, New York and London to invite them to invest here."

He further saidthat, "I will assure them that our line of talks will be based on the same principles as it was being discussed when they came to India last."

At the summit, he said among other things "I will particularly discuss the recent financial developments in South East Asia where the currencies have been devalued by 40 to 80 per cent." These countries have approached the IMF and the World Bank for huge loans.

Sinha said that he would be meeting the treasury secretary of the US to discuss the issue of regulating the movement of international capital. Talking about the anti-dumping duty, the finance minister felt that, "these provisions should be used effectively by India wherever there is a case of imposing such laws. There are many instances where such duties have been imposed."

Sinha also agreed that "the problem is that our procedures are somewhat cumbersome. I have discussed it with my colleagues in the commerce ministry and we are keen that the procedures are streamlined so that we can respond to thosesituations and impose anti-dumping duties whenever the situation is called for."

As far as the impact of South East Asian financial crisis on India was concerned, Sinha said that since these economies were coming out of the crisis phase, "there is no reason why India should be concerned."

Speaking about the issue of patenting Indian products, Sinha said that "we had earlier opposed the accord when it was signed by the Narasimha Rao government." However, he added that that the government would ensure that the country did not suffer on account of such decisions.

Sinha said that he would discuss such matters with the like-minded countries and would place the views of the developing nations effectively before the WTO. He hoped that the member countries of the WTO would understand the problems of the developing world.

He described the problem being faced by India with regard to patenting of some Indian products as, "the gift by the previous government which signed the treaty in a hurry without properlyunderstanding the implications of the accord."