US President George W Bush on Friday said that American relation with India was closer than ever before. He also said India in the 21st century is the natural partner of the United States of America.

He said that the partnership between India and the United States begins with democracy. The Indian Americans have made tremendous contributions in various fields.

Earlier in the day, the US President ruled out protectionist measures to address domestic concerns on outsourcing and favoured easy access for Indian students to American universities and schools.

“I have taken a position, the US will reject protectionism. We won’t fear competition. We welcome competition,” he said interacting with young entrepreneurs at the Indian School of Business, which has collaboration with Wharton School and Kellog School of Management.

Noting that people lose jobs as a result of globalisation, Bush said, “Losing job is painful. But the fundamental question is how the government reacts.”

He said one way was to resort to protectionist laws and the other was to educate people so that they found jobs in the 21st century.

“Let us make sure that pro-growth economic policies are in place — it means low taxes, less regulations, fewer lawsuits and wise energy policies,” the US President said…

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Bush said globalisation provides “great opportunities” and asserted that his country would not “pull back” from competition.

Highlighting India’s importance in terms of business, he said the country had a 30 crore middle class market.

“If we make a product they want at a reasonable price, it becomes viable. It will have a market in India,” he said, adding the people of America should maintain their confidence about their future.

Bush, whose audience included several entrepreneurs educated in the US, said the American Universities and colleges should be accessible to Indians.

He said it helps change the perception of the country. “We welcome people to the US so that you can see first hand good side and bad side and you can draw your own conclusions.”

India did not need foreign investment to achieve economic growth of entrepreneurship and technological capabilities are strong and globally competitive, S. Gurumurthy, columnist, said today.

During a discussion about “the Union for 2004-2005″ organized by the Department of Management Studies at the Vellore Institute of Technology here, he said the scale of foreign investment was more than the benchmark economic status of a country.

China today needs a quantity of foreign investment because it had destroyed all businesses. Entrepreneurs leave the country for better pastures. That is why China was importing entrepreneurs. But in India was strong and entrepreneurship was established early on global and acquiring new skills.

Gurumurthy said companies such as Tatas and TVS showed the world they could make cars and two-wheel technology, world-class without foreign investment. TVS measure its technology in its laboratories and is technologically superior with a motorcycle. Tata performance in the manufacture of cars was so great that Rolls-Royce in cooperation with the company for the manufacture of cars.

Gurumurthy said ignored by the media these success stories of the Indian economy. The dialect press in English only represented the media, which was also lobbying is not immune against, “he said.

Era. Sezhian, former MP, said the EU budget is “high sublime voice and words, but in low numbers.”

G. Viswanathan, Vit Schüssel, the presidency, invited the left-wing parties, their economic policies in the national interest.