Industrialists suggest ways to reverse economic downturn
NEWDELHI: Prominent industrialists on Thursday urged finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to kick-start economic growth by encouraging private investment, improving the regulatory environment and increasing export competitiveness.
In a customary pre-budget consultation with Sitharaman and top officials of the finance ministry, the industrialists suggested ways to revive the rural economy by boosting consumption. The suggestions included ideas to improve the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code with regard to the National Company Law Tribunal and banks, faster merger, acquisition and demerger processes, and ways to reduce time for approval of foreign direct investment proposals, according to a statement issued by the finance ministry.
The industrialists also called for structural changes in laws for creating an effective and stable business environment, timebound decisions for augmenting ease of business both at the central and state levels and fresh capital investment by the government towards infrastructure development. They also stressed on the need to prevent predatory pricing and dumping in India, facilitate research and development in the country to boost Make in India, and harness public-private partnership by leveraging social funding through a new programme, as well as “ensuring liquidity for NBFCs (non-bank financial companies) with focus on rural economy, and ways to increase consumption in the economy,” according to the statement.
Decriminalizing various laws and procedures would address the issue of trust deficit, said Vikram Kirloskar, president of the Confederation of Indian Industry. “This will be in line with the principle that entrepreneurship is a risky venture. Wilful defaulters should be dealt with firmly. However, in most cases, the fine should be enough to deal with inadvertent noncompliance,” he said.
Other industrialists who took part in the meeting included Bharti Enterprises chairman Sunil Bhrati Mittal, GMR Group chairman BVN. Rao, Ashok Leyland Ltd managing director and chief executive Vipin Sondhi, RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group chairman Sanjiv Goenka, Wipro Ltd’s global chief financial officer Jatin
Dalal, Manoj Chugh, president, group public affairs and member, group executive board, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, K Raheja Corp. Group president Ravi Raheja, Patanjali Ayurved Ltd chairman Acharya Balkrishan, Sandip Somany, president of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and Balkrishan Goenka, president of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India.
Sitharaman on Thursday also met representatives of trade unions and labour organisations as part of the pre-budget consultations. The participants aired their concerns about provision of social security for workers besides skilling, re-skilling, and up-skilling of the labour force. They also emphasized on the quality of job creation, the need to ensure minimum wages for workers in detail, and the need for streamlining various schemes for better results.