Economic survey a road without milestones: GMR Group

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The government has laid out some pretty ambitious targets in the economic survey that was tabled on July 2. How much of this is expected to be translated into action in the budget? 

Commenting on the issue, A Subba Rao, Group CFO of GMR Group said the Economic Survey is a grand vision. "It is a fabulous road ahead but there are no milestones as the timelines are missing," he said. He, however, added that the survey is quite ambitious and this is what the country wants. 

While Ketan Dalal, ED at PwC, feels that although there are no milestones, this being the first year of the government, it is laying down a vision for the next few years as opposed to indicating something that will show up on Monday [when the Union Budget will be out].

Also read: Survey calls for more FDI, wants changes in sops, taxes etc

Here is a verbatim transcript of the exclusive interview with A Subba Rao and Ketan Dalal on CNBC-TV18. Also watch the accompanying video.

Q: As I read this document, it reads like a dream vision document. It addresses every issue that we would want addressed--subsidies, leakages and reduction in subsidies, reforms, foreign direct investments (FDI), growth targets, fiscal reforms and discipline, tax reforms. What do you take away when you look at a document like this because economic surveys till now didn't mean much to us; they were just a state of affairs kind of document? What do you take away? Do you think this is what the government intends to do over the next five years or do you think they are just laying out for you? What is the vision document that we were expecting in the budget and maybe the budget will focus now on the nitty-gritties of how much of this can be executed?

Rao: It is a grand vision. It is a fabulous road ahead but there are no milestones. So the timelines are missing here and whether it is intended to be translated into reality over a period of one year or over a period of five-ten years is critical. This is very ambitious and this is what the country wants. This is what every citizen of the country wants. So if this can be translated into reality, at least, a part of this year actionable items, out of so many intents. How many of these things will be translated into reality in this budget is what the country would wait for and all of us would wait for.

Q: Mr Subbarao has hit upon an important thing--vision document, dream document, addresses everything from hunger, malnutrition to FDI and reforms in subsidies and all of that--but it doesn't put out any milestones.

Dalal: You are absolutely right and it uses the word phasing-out of particular types of taxes, for example. Also, interestingly, it lays-out quite bit of the negative backdrop both at a global level and at an all India level. The numbers are there for everybody to see. You have a 158% increase in the fiscal deficit over what was there last year, you have exports going up only 3% in dollar terms, etc. So, yes, as Mr Subbarao said there are no milestones. I think this being the first year of the government, it is laying down a vision for the next few years as opposed to indicating something that will show up on Monday.

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