In the domain of industrial development our achievement so far has been substantial. All the same, the process of industrial growth in the past developed some disturbing features. There has often been, for instance, scant regard for efficiency. The highly attractive opportunities thrown up by import substitution for a large and hungry domestic market has bred a certain disregard for productivity and costs. Energies have been concentrated very largely on expanding capacities and stepping up the output of high cost goods of indifferent quality. At the present stage of our development, therefore, it has been imperative to devote greater attention to a more efficient handling of our productive apparatus and material supplies. For, poor productivity and high costs essentially involve a waste of scarce resources, a waste which may not always be visible but is, nevertheless, quite real.
In stressing the need for efficiency I would like to emphasise also the crucial aspects of quality consciousness. There is little satisfaction to be gained from higher output, or lower unit costs, if the end products are sub-standard with regard to performance or durability. Low costs (and prices) in such cases may be achieved by imposing a higher ultimate cost on the consumer who has to make do with shoddy goods. And, in so far as durable products —equipment or consumer durables — have an unusually uncertain or short life, there is an avoidable waste of scarce sources. Worst still, poor quality makes it more difficult for us to compete in the international market. In view of the strict constraints imposed on development spending by our limited resources and the need to face the rigorous standards of international competition, efficient production has now become an essential pre-condition for sustained and rapid growth of industrial capacity and output in the future. It is not enough just to produce; production must be efficient and competitive. Only by eliminating the hidden waste through inefficiency shall we be able to overcome the resource constraint without imposing an impossible burden on the common man and without endangering our external payments position. I am sure the younger entrepreneurs share my concern for industrial efficiency and will strive to reduce costs and to improve quality.
