‘We expect rapid growth after GST’

India is one of the fastest growing global economies and the soon-to-be implemented Goods and Services Tax (GST) will only accelerate growth in the coming years, Adi Godrej, chairman of the Godrej Group, said in an interview on the sidelines of the India Beauty and Hygiene Association conclave in Mumbai.

GST will be beneficial for the economy and for the group, said Godrej, who stepped down as executive chairman of Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) in May and was succeeded by his daughter Nisaba. Godrej Group’s businesses include Edited excerpts:

Yes, we are prepared. In the past we had done a similar excise (exercise?) when state tax was changed to Valueadded Tax (VAT). This will help consumption. Prices will be under control. At least when commodity prices go up there usually are price increases and that may not be necessary.

It is difficult to tell whether prices will come down. It’s too early. We still have to evaluate. growth in all our businesses at the group level. Our fastest growing business is real estate. The economy is doing very well and we think with the implementation of GST there will be further growth for all our businesses. Whenever something new comes along, there are transition issues. I think there will be some clarifications that are expected when it comes to destocking. There will be some further clarifications on June 11 (when the GST Council meets). We are always open to acquisitions. We have said that we will look at acquisitions in the developing world and India is a part of that.