The Union Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, on Sunday said that he was "willing to tolerate debate, and perhaps even dissent, as long as it does not come in the way of 8 per cent growth" of the Indian economy.

Speaking at a function of SPEL Semiconductors Ltd, Mr Chidambaram said, specifically addressing the overseas visitors at the function, that it was "my intention to ensure that India grows at 8 per cent continuously for the next few years." Any dissent that came in the way of growth, he said, would be "brushed aside."

Later, in an informal chat with journalists, when asked what form India could see action on brushing aside dissent, he said, "Why should there be any action as long as we can accommodate debate and dissent."

SPEL Semiconductors' function was to launch a new facility for a hi-tech `packaging' of ICs as well as the launch of a $250-million expansion programme, that spreads over five years.

Launching the facility and the investment programme, Mr Chidambaram urged the company to invest in R&D.

The Finance Minister had a word of caution on two counts. One, the emerging shortage of qualified engineers, thanks to most of the engineers taking to software professions. In this context, he said that the four largest IT companies in India would recruit 1,00,000 engineers this year, which would rise to 1,30,000 in the next and to 1,75,000 in the year after. Many of them were chemical, civil, mining and metallurgical engineers, he noted.

While this was a matter of pride, "it is also a concern," he said, adding that other industries could be starved of talent.

"We must pay attention to human resources," Mr Chidambaram said.

He also cautioned SPEL Semiconductors on the growing competition in the IT hardware industry. He urged the company to invest in R&D.