Bangalore: Indian commerce and industry on July 2 applauded the appointment of veteran politician Jaswant Singh as the country's new Finance Minister, saying the move would give a definitive push to the country's sagging economic reforms.

Brokers on the Bombay Stock Exchange, meanwhile, broadly welcomed the appointment, with positive sentiment pushing the BSE 30-share Sensitive Index up 5.67 points to 3,293.91 by 1:00 pm (IST).

"Jaswant Singh's appointment would bring a fresh approach to the economic reforms, especially after his track record as the foreign minister during the volatile India- Pakistan relations. His strategic approach would give a boost to reforms in the areas of privatisation," said Prakash Lala, a dealer at HSBC Securities.

The country's top trade lobby, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), welcomed the second stint of 64-year-old Singh as Finance Minister in Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's coalition government.

Singh, a former soldier, held the post of Finance Minister in Vajpayee's 13-day-old government during May 1996.

He was re-appointed to the post in a sweeping Cabinet change effected late on June 1 by Vajpayee under which Singh switched portfolios with incumbent Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha.

"These important changes before the start of the monsoon session of the Parliament will provide a further impetus to the economic reforms programme," the CII said of the reshuffle.

Yashwant Sinha's four-year-tenure as Finance Minister was troubled by a scandal surrounding investments by the country's largest mutual fund, the Unit Trust of India, which prompted calls for his resignation in 2001.

His 2001 budget, which was hailed by industry, had not brought an anticipated jump in growth due to weak implementation.

The CII said the positioning of senior ministers who were deeply involved in pushing the reforms agenda would lead to a unified approach towards the subject.

"Jaswant Singh has engaged the world and followed a clear strategy and direction in building international relations and we expect the same clarity and direction in economic policy making (from Singh)," said CII president Ashok Soota.

"This is a win- win situation."

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, meanwhile, said it hoped Singh would continue with the reforms process and give it a vigorous push.

After experiencing an acceleration of growth in the first half of the 1990s, the Indian economy slowed down. It had been estimated to grow at six per cent in the fiscal year to March 2001, but in fact the growth rate was just four per cent.

Reforms in the financial, banking and infrastructure sectors such as power are yet to be implemented and analysts have called for urgent action.

"We hope that the new finance minister will be able to kick-start the economic reforms which were lying dormant for quite some time," said Vijay Kalantri, president of the All India Association of Industries.

"Instead of simplifying the tax regime, this government has made it more cumbersome. The industry is ready to face all the challenges but the government has to take steps which would make industry look at the future," Kalantri said.

A M Naik, chief of company Larsen and Toubro, said Singh's first task would be to tackle problems of non-implementation of projects which have already been announced.

"I think he should look at the crisis in the power sector which is facing massive problems of payment defaults from consumers. Due to these inherent problems private sector is shying away from investing in the sector," he said.

An economic newspaper said Singh had polled 6.4 on a scale of one to 10 in a snap poll conducted in New Delhi and Mumbai of 44 chief executive officers of corporate, finance and banking sectors.

It said the score marked cautious optimism on the part of the respondents.