Industry asks govt to boost private investments to kick-start growth

Syllabus subtopic: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment.

Prelims and Mains focus: about the key takeaways from the meeting; suggestions given by various stakeholders and their significance

News: Prominent industrialists on Thursday urged finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to kick-start economic growth by encouraging private investment, improving the regulatory environment and increasing export competitiveness.

Context:

The finance minister is slated to present her second budget on 1 February amid expectations that she would announce fresh measures to reverse the current economic downturn that has led to GDP growth hitting a six-and-a-half year low at 4.5% in the September quarter.

Suggestions given by industrialists

In a customary pre-budget consultation with Sitharaman and top officials of the finance ministry, the industrialists suggested ways to revive the rural economy by boosting consumption.

The suggestions included ideas to improve the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code with regard to the National Company Law Tribunal and banks, faster merger, acquisition and demerger processes, and ways to reduce time for approval of foreign direct investment proposals.

The industrialists also called for structural changes in laws for creating an effective and stable business environment, time-bound decisions for augmenting ease of business both at the central and state levels and fresh capital investment by the government towards infrastructure development.

They also stressed on the need to prevent predatory pricing and dumping in India, facilitate research and development in the country to boost Make in India, and harness public-private partnership by leveraging social funding through a new programme, as well as ensuring liquidity for NBFCs (non-bank financial companies) with focus on rural economy, and ways to increase consumption in the economy.

Decriminalizing various laws and procedures would address the issue of trust deficit. This will be in line with the principle that entrepreneurship is a risky venture. Wilful defaulters should be dealt with firmly. However, in most cases, the fine should be enough to deal with inadvertent non-compliance.

Concerns raised by representatives of trade organisations

The Finance Minister on Thursday also met representatives of trade unions and labour organizations as part of the pre-budget consultations.

The participants aired their concerns about provision of social security for workers besides skilling, re-skilling, and up-skilling of the labour force.

They also emphasized on the quality of job creation, the need to ensure minimum wages for workers in detail, and the need for streamlining various schemes for better results.

Source: mint

Join Our Telegram

India should be wary of middle income trap

Indo-Russian military exercise concludes

Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a and MASS EXTINCTION

25 Dec, 24
SHARE

Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a from the Paris Basin (Environment) Paper-3 PMP OAE 1a refers to a period during the Cretaceous Period (145 million years ago and ended 66 million years ago) when Earth's oceans became depleted of oxygen, causing a significant disruption in marine life. Cause: The event is believed to have been

Viksit Panchayat Karmayogi (Good governance)

26 Dec, 24
SHARE

Viksit Panchayat Karmayogi (Good governance) Governance GS PAPER-2 PMP Dr. Jitendra Singh launched the ‘Viksit Panchayat Karmayogi’ initiative on Good Governance Day, celebrated to mark the 100th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The initiative, which is part of the broader ‘Prashasan Gaon

Major programmes to control Air Pollution

23 Dec, 24
SHARE

Major programmes to control Air Pollution National Clean Air Programme? It was launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in January 2019. It is the first-ever effort in the country to frame a national framework for air quality management with a time-bound reduction target. The

Air pollution and Air quality Measures in India

21 Dec, 24
SHARE

Air pollution and Air quality Measures in India (Environment) GS Paper-3 P-M-P Air pollution may be defined as the presence of any solid, liquid or gaseous substance including noise and radioactive radiation in the atmosphere in such concentration that may be directly and/or indirectly injurious to humans or other l

Geopolitical Significance of Ports

20 Dec, 24
SHARE

Geopolitical Significance of Ports (IR) Act as geopolitical assets: Ports enhance the projection of strategic reach, which helps strengthen the country’s control over important sea and energy supply routes. E.g. Indian Navy’s staging base at Agalega Islands will enable marine patrols