The new government will have to focus on roads and power, and take urgent measures to reverse India’s image of being a hostile country for doing business, said Gurcharan Das, author and columnist. He was speaking in a panel discussion at the India Economic Convention 2014 in New Delhi.
Another panelist, Ajit Ranade, Chief Economist, Aditya Birla Group highlighted that India ranked a lowly 134 in terms of ease of doing business.
Das said the incoming government needs to abolish at least 70 clearances if manufacturing in the country has to be boosted. There was also a need to reform senseless labour laws and at the same time have a labour welfare fund.
And while the Goods and Services Tax has to be a priority, it would take a bold leader to take this much-awaited measure to fruition, Das said. He said the BJP had to give up its “irrational” opposition to Foreign Direct Investment in retail, adding that multi-brand retail will give higher returns to farmers.
In the same discussion, Bibek Debroy, Professor, Centre for Policy Research voiced concern about high retail inflation said there was a need to up savings and interest rates by four percentage.
India has been grappling with high retail and wholesale inflation for a while now, and despite interest rates being high in absolute terms, bank deposits gave negative returns to savers when adjusted for inflation.
Vallabh Bhansali, Chairman, Enam Financial Consultants said the market was extremely cautious about the election result, and he saw a looming crisis in the banking sector because of the fast rising pile of bad loans.
Amy Kazmin, South Asia Correspondent, Financial Times, said it was difficult for India to return to 8-9 percent growth rate in the short term because of problems of multiple fronts.
Economist Pai Panindiker said healthcare, employment and education needed the new government’s urgent focus. Also, it needed to have a clear agenda on promoting the huge investments required to revive economic growth.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
