Reacting to the Economic Survey 2014-15 presented in the
Parliament today, Mr Ajay S Shriram, President, CII said that “the survey
paints a promising picture of the economy with GDP growth rate slated to be in
the range of 8.1 to 8.5 % in the coming year.” The Survey mentions that
inflation is on a credible downtrend and current account deficit is within the
comfort level.
“The return to the path of high growth looks eminently feasible in
view of reform – oriented approach of the government which has rejuvenated
investment confidence and helped India emerge as a favourable destination for
doing business”, said Mr Shriram. CII hopes that the measures prescribed in the
Economic Survey are implemented in the course of the year to build the growth
momentum in the economy.
CII concurs that the overriding priority should be to adhere to
the path of fiscal consolidation by overhauling of non-productive subsidies and
considering revenue generation as a major priority. It strongly supports the
fiscal strategy of achieving the deficit target of 3.0% of GDP in the medium
term and moving towards the golden rule of eliminating revenue deficit even
while improving the quality of fiscal deficit to promote investment.
Maintaining a fine balance between the short term need to boost public
investment to revive growth without losing sight of the imperative need to
continue fiscal prudence is very much needed, maintains CII.
As elucidated in the Economic Survey, it is very much possible to
improve the investment climate and clear the backlog of stalled projects
provided the government adopts a three pronged strategy of reviving public
investment as an engine of growth in the short run which would be complemented
by private investments which would have a crowd in effect, strengthening
institutions relating to bankruptcy and restructuring the PPP model to make it
viable, the CII release said.
The Economic Survey rightly calls for according a pivotal role to
railways as an engine of growth. This is essential to drive the ‘Make in India’
initiative and revitalize future economic growth. Priority also needs to be
accorded to strengthening the pace of investment in dedicated freight corridors
and the Golden Quadrilateral in the road sector along with associated
corridors, said CII.
The Survey correctly recognizes that rejuvenation of the
manufacturing sector through the ‘Make in India’ initiative as a key priority
to promoting growth with employment generation. CII agrees that the impetus
should be given on correcting distortions in the land, labour and capital
markets to create a conducive environment for manufacturing.
“CII strongly advocates the need for a predictable, stable and
non-adversarial tax system to boost manufacturing and take steps which would
facilitate the ease of doing business in the country. The implementation of GST
would be a game-changer and it is hoped that it would be implemented by 2016,”
said Mr Shriram.
CII agrees that accent on education and skills, focus on promoting
self-employment and promoting growth in the MSME sector is of critical
importance to promote inclusive and job-oriented growth in the Indian
economy.
New Delhi
27th February 2015