With the economy in distress, leading industrialist Ratan Tata has said India has lost the confidence of the world and the government has been slow to recognise it.

He also said the government has “swayed” under the influence of vested interests in private sector and policies have been “changed, delayed and manipulated”.

Tata, who demitted office as Tata group Chairman last December, said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has held India’s “esteem high but in recent times we have lost that esteem”.

“We have lost the confidence of the world. We have been slow to recognise that in the government,” he told CNN-IBN while responding to a query on PM’s silence on investors losing confidence.

He further said it would be good for the country if policies were implemented as they were written.

“The government has issued policy which vested interests, quite often in private sector have changed, delayed or manipulated that policy. So, for one reason or the other, the government has swayed with those forces,” Mr Tata said.

Recollecting the 1991 reforms, when “the brave moves were made”, he said “it’s the same team. What has happened in my view is that there have been forces...too many competing interests. By and large whatever is happening should be looked at to the benefit of the people of India not to few vested interest in India”.

While stressing that his respect for the leadership of Dr Singh continued to be “very high”, he, however, said there is a lack of leadership in the country to lead from the front.

”...we don’t have leadership that we have been talking about, that is leading from the front,” Mr Tata said.

He further said the government is being pulled in different directions, even from within it.

“We should have one view...the team has been pulling in different directions, allies are pulling in different directions...states are pulling in one direction. We are not consolidating ourselves in the government,” Mr Tata said.

On Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, he said: “I think in Gujarat he has proven his leadership and he has moved Gujarat into a position of prominence. I am not in a position to gaze what he would do in a country.” (PTI)