Eco summit day one: Experts see rate cuts

Excerpts from Power Breakfast on CNBC-TV18 Watch the full show » Nifty BSE | NSE 10/02/12 Are Mutual Funds betting on Nifty?

With the India Economic Summit underway, experts are of the view that interest rates could come down in the wake of declining inflation.

 

Here are industry stalwarts on the scope for rate cuts:

 

KV Kamath, MD and CEO, ICICI Bank said, "We have good news on several fronts though the global front does not look that good. One way of brining down rates is pushing systemic liquidity. The industry needs to make sure now that there is enough money for their growth plans. More liquidity is required and that calls for further monetary action. If indeed interest rates have to come down further signaling is needed.

 

Kamath said that lower inflation was good news for the economy as it meant there was room for lower interest rates.

 

Nandan M Nilekani, Co-Chairman, Infosys, "We revised our guidance. There is a global scenario that is unprecedented and it will have an impact on everybody. But the IT sector has demonstrated time and time again that it is able to handle these challenges.

 

Ramalingam Raju, Founder, Satyam said, "In the last few months there has been significant concern rather than an immediate impact. We had guided for the rupee revenue growth to be higher and in dollar terms to be 2-3% lower than the guidance we had given. Our guidance is fairly clear and we continue to state that there will be growth, maybe slower growth than we expected in the beginning of the year.

 

Rahul Bajaj, Chairman, Bajaj Auto, said, "Further reduction in repo rate, reverse repo, CRR, SLR, and reduced interest rate will make credit available, without which growth cannot come up. Fiscal stimulus is a must, especially for infrastructure projects. We, in India need roads, power, ports, etc. Our problem is efficient implementation. The time to reduce taxes has come I am not talking about direct taxes; I am referring to indirect taxes."