Uday Kotak on conservative, cautious regulators: ‘Too much guardrails could…’

Uday Kotak said that for fast growth of the GDP India “requires a sense of dreaming."

Veteran banker Uday Kotak said that regulators should not be too conservative as well as cautious but must respond fast to "accidents" in the respective sectors. At an event organised by the National Financial Reporting Authority, Uday Kotak said that too many regulatory guardrails affect economic growth.

Uday Kotak, Founder, MD and CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. (HT Photo)

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He said, “I feel very very optimistic for India's future but I am also very conscious that...unbridled focus on the opportunity without having the guardrails also runs the risk, and also too much guardrails will not get us there (developed nation).”

For fast growth of the GDP, India “requires a sense of dreaming. It requires a sense of creativity, entrepreneurship, and professionals (need to be) ready to take risks without fear,” he said.

“We need to protect and nurture our entrepreneurial and creative spirits very much for India to achieve its ambitions and aspirations,” he continued.

While risks could emerge but stopping growth is not a solution, he said. Citing an example, he explained, "we must encourage a lot more traffic, a lot more roads, have better signals, better regulation and most importantly fast resolution mechanism should an accident happen."

India should have a good regulation to prevent accidents so that there can be more investors in the country, he concluded.