IBLA jury upbeat on govt decisions on FDI, diesel

The change in mood was palpable. Galvanised by last week's mega policy moves, India Inc's finest gathered in good cheer on Monday morning at the jury meet of CNBC-TV18's India Business Leader Awards (IBLA) 2012. 

Sunil Mittal, chairman, Bharti Enterprises , commented: "I think the government has regained the initiative and the announcements on Friday were brave, bold and in the right direction. I think the government should continue with this momentum. From an economic point of view, the reforms that have been announced are required and I really hope the government stays on course and announces more such moves in the coming week."

Senior Supreme Court advocate Harish Salve, added, "The message is loud and clear. We are back to governance and back to choosing the right over the popular and if there is a chief minister who wants to act as the leader of the Opposition and take out rallies, so be it."

Offering a banker’s perspective, Pratip Chaudhuri, chairman, SBI, explained, "The measures have been very well thought-out. I think the decisions have been announced in time and if they were not taken then the consequences would not be good for the country."

Corporate captain YC Deveshwar, chairman, ITC , commented on the impact of FDI in retail. "All of us have decided that we will advance our investment programme by one year as the sentiment has changed."

N Chandrasekaran, MD and CEO, TCS , highlighted that the government needed to keep the momentum going. "I think these are excellent steps in the right direction. I think it definitely moves the needle. The sentiment is up across the board.”

If the lack of a rate cut was disappointing, it didn't show as the Super-Seven got down to the task at hand - picking this year's outstanding companies and leaders.