I am delighted to convey my greetings to Business Today and its readers on the happy occasion of its 15th Anniversary. Indian business has come a long way in a short span of time. I salute the spirit of enterprise, creativity and hard work that Indian businessmen and professionals have come to exemplify.

These are good times for Indian business. Those who worried 15 years ago that Indian business would not be in a position to take on the challenge of globalisation have been decisively proved wrong. The Indian economy has experienced unprecedented change and growth in the last two decades.

Business Today has reported extensively on the change that has characterised Indian business these 15 years. I am confident that in the next 15 years also you will have a lot to write about change and transformation of Indian business. There is a new sense of optimism and a willingness to take risk and think big among the leaders of business in India today. After four years of above 8 per cent growth, which in itself is unprecedented in our history, our economy is poised to repeat this performance for another year.

To all the successful entrepreneurs who have benefited from the process of economic growth, my advice is to treat their wealth as a societal trust and manage it for the welfare of the nation at large. Lord Keynes, analysing the role of capitalists in 19th century Britain in his work The Economic Consequences of Peace, said "If the rich had spent their new wealth on their own enjoyments, the world would long ago have found such a regime intolerable. But like bees they saved and accumulated, not less to the advantage of the whole community... (they) were allowed to call the best part of the cake theirs and were theoretically free to consume it, on the tacit underlying condition that they consumed very little of it in practice. The duty of 'saving' became nine-tenths of virtue and the growth of the cake the object of true religion."

Economic reforms have created a new world that simply did not exist earlier. Fifteen years ago you had to be in a queue, use influence and offer bribes to secure a telephone connection. Today, I find farmers, vegetable vendors and plumbers using mobile phones. Nothing symbolises the change in our economy more strikingly than this.

I do believe that India can do it. However, if we have to realise our full potential there is much work to be done. We have to invest in the capabilities of our people, making them more productive. We have to build world class infrastructure. We have to create a more open and efficient financial system, a system capable of generating the necessary financial resources needed for the rapid growth of our economy. Above all, we must make the growth process more inclusive and more environment friendly.

I am sure India can do it. I am sure Indians will do it. My best wishes to all your readers for the New Year.

MANMOHAN SINGH