The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has outlined a five-pronged strategy for achieving 10% GDP growth.
The chamber has prioritised its focus on affirmative action, employability and governance with the aim of achieving inclusive growth. New CII president B Muthuraman, who is also the vice-chairman of Tata Steel, spoke to HT on a range of issues. Excerpts:
What measures would you suggest to fight the menace of black money?
Black money has a simple solution — punish the culprit. Moreover, India urgently needs a stringent set of laws to deal with the problem. Meanwhile, introduction of amnesty scheme is the need of the hour.
How would high oil prices affect the Indian economy?
Oil prices are not in our control. I believe oil crises are not created by economic equations of demand and supply. It is a more of a political problem involving Russia, Libya and many other countries. But, projects on coal-to-liquid and development in the area of alternative sources of energy have shown optimism.
Do you favour the early implementation of Goods and Services Tax?
Not only early, I call for “urgent” implementation of GST. Early implementation of GST would be the top agenda for CII in the coming years. This could add 1-1.5% to our GDP growth by improving efficiency.
What do you plan to do to reshape the agenda of CII?
The CII theme announced last year on Business for Livelihood would be continued with a five-pronged strategy to aim at 10% GDP growth. The strategy planned is fundamental in nature and I hope the chamber will use it for the years ahead.
What do you plan to do to reshape the agenda of CII?
The CII theme announced last year on Business for Livelihood would be continued with a five-pronged strategy to aim at 10% GDP growth. The strategy planned is fundamental in nature and I hope the chamber will use it for the years ahead.