The European Business Group in India on Wednesday called for cooperation in implementation of central policies and abolition of trade barriers.

Presenting a position paper on the status of business, the EBG said that the Electricity Act of 2003 has failed to attract greater investment in the power sector mainly because of "contradiction between the federal government and the different states in implementing policies devised by the government of India".

It said that the power legislation has not been able to send "significant positive signals to enhance foreign direct investment" in the sector.

Though there has been some positive move on the oil and natural gas sector with the introduction of NELP, EBG said that big names in the field of exploration were still missing.

The pending petroleum bill should be legislated soon, it said.

"Liberalisaiton of pension funds is long overdue and urgently called for... the corporate tax structure between foreign and Indian banks needs to be harmonised," it said.

The position paper of EBG is a presentation of views and suggestions to further improve trade ties. It covers sectors like automobiles, energy, telecommunications, finance, insurance and healthcare.