Kolkata: The chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry's (CII) Eastern region, B Muthuraman, today (May 14, 2004) expressed hope that whoever formed the next Government at the Centre, it would choose the path of development and liberalisation to take India on the road to become a "global business powerhouse".

Muthuraman, who is the Tata Steel managing director, said the Lok Sabha election results had reiterated the Indian citizen's faith in democracy and shown the will of the people.

He said in a release in Kolkata that the reforms process, started in the early nineties, was irreversible and a part of every political party's agenda.