Mumbai: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today (Oct 6, 2004) assured the industry captains that his Government would rationalise tax structure to reward enterprise and investment.

Addressing a galaxy of industrialists, NGOs and capital market functionaries, Singh, on his maiden visit to the city after becoming the Prime Minister, said there was a need to rationalise tax structure as the system was riddled with uncertainties, which unnecessarily gave rise to interpretations.

He assured the gathering that the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) Government had a number of proposals to introduce in the next budget that would not only reward enterprise and investment but also make the tax system equitable. The Prime Minister said bureaucratic hurdles and corruption were holding the country's economic growth and "we have to take corrective measures to go forward." Stressing on the need for the growth of capital markets, the Prime Minister said the country needed fair regulations and a commitment that regulatory powers were not misused.

Singh appealed to industrialists to provide jobs to weaker sections, particularly "first generation learners," to bring about social justice.

He said the Common Minimum Programme of UPA also provided for jobs reservation in the private sector for weaker sections.