Like govt, industry must also take risks, says PM
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday pushed Indian industry to do its bit in a speech at the Confederation of Indian Industry’s annual meeting where he said that while the government is willing to take political risks because it is committed to reforms, industry should match this with its own risk-taking to realise the goal of a “self-reliant India.”
The Prime Minister mentioned the recent move to do away with the controversial retrospective tax rule, the decriminalisation of the Companies Act (which should make it easier to do business), and productionlinked incentive (PLI) schemes, which promote manufacturing.
Speaking in Hindi, he said: “All these reforms are happening today because the incumbent government is not doing these reforms under any compulsion... reform is a subject matter of conviction for us.”
He added: ““Recently, rectifying past mistakes, we have also decided to do away with retrospective tax. The way this decision is being lauded by the industry, I’m confident that this will strengthen trust between the industry and the government.”
Even during the monsoon session of Parliament, which ended
NEW DELHI:
on Wednesday, the government managed to push through several important bills, including The Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 which scraps a controversial retrospective tax law that was enacted in 2012 and resulted in 17 messy litigations, including two arbitrations evoked by Vodafone Plc and Cairn Energy Plc in foreign tribunals. India lost both.
Mentioning the laws passed during the monsoon session, PM Modi said the Factoring Regulation (Amendment) Bill will help small businessmen get credit, while the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) Amendment Bill will protect the interests of small depositors. The former provides a mechanism for monetising receivables and the latter guarantees each depositor a maximum of ₹5 lakh only (including both principal and interest amount) in case of liquidation of a bank, in a time-bound manner.
The Prime Minister said his government is ready to take even big political risks in the interest of the nation. Citing the example of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) introduced in July 2017, he said the indirect tax reform was stuck for several years because previous governments could not muster the courage to take the “political risk” involved.
“Today, you have a government, which is unshackling all hurdles, pushing all boundaries. Today, you have a government which is asking you to tell what more is required to do to make the Indian industry strong,” he said. But giving the example of a car, he said it cannot run on one wheel. Therefore, the industry will also have to do its bit,” he added.
Reacting to the statement, CII president TV Narendran said: “Industry is willing to be in lockstep with the government and take risks that are corresponding with the needs of the economy.”
Addressing CII members earlier in the day, revenue secretary Tarun Bajaj asked industry why private investments were subdued despite impressive corporate performance.