The Industries Ministry already has a committee for NRI direct investment. The state was the most favoured destination for foreign investment -- 1166 projects involving foreign direct investment (FDI) of Rs 21,461 crore had been approved for Maharashtra. Government of India FDI figures showed the state was way ahead of Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, Dake said.

NRI industrialist Swaraj Paul appreciated the efforts of state in attracting foreign investment and said it had done a tremendous job. "We don't need any new policies. NRIs will invest because they are Indians. Just don't mistreat us," he said,adding that there were number of instances of mistreatment.

Paul said Swadeshi was a good idea if it implied an efficient, competitive industry which would benefit the common man. He was against it if it meant nursing sick industries. "The government is moving on the right track but political compulsions should not force protectionist policies," he said.

Indians could compete with the best in the world. There were around 18 million NRIs and their economic product was "about the same as all what 950 millions generate in India each year." The reason behind this was that most NRIs wanted to be the best in the societies they lived, he said.

Pointing out three priority areas for businesses to compete in a global market, Paul said companies should not settle for anything but the best. "We all know that everyone cannot be best. But anyone can try," he said. The second priority area was the application and adaptation of technology. It was better to spend a little more and achieve much more. Economic historyfrom the time of the industrial revolution was the story of those with better technology doing better.

The third critical imperative was the need for leadership in enterprises. "In the age of systems and organisation, we tend to forget that people matter," Paul said, adding that understanding people was the best management technique of all. Managing for the world market required many adjustments but the basics of knowledge and using common sense were eternally valid.

Paul also spoke on the need for a balance between encouraging initiative and maintaining standards. The enterprise society had to be kept alive without reverting to excessive regulation to give people the benefits of steady growth.

South East Asia had run into many difficulties and parts of Europe -- like France and Germany -- were stagnating. Russia had collapsed. Indian economy had not done too badly in comparison but many segments had been disappointing. The lesson to be learnt from these experiences was that the open market was here tostay and there was no going back to the old socialist system, although it could be modified and adjusted.

Dubai-based industrialist Bharat Shah spoke on the need to continue with the not ordinarily resident (NOR) status for NRIs under the new Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). Mehahboobani from Hong Kong attributed the constant devaluation of the Indian rupee and the absence of any risk-cover for dampening in NRI investment.