Prime Minister Narendra Modi met top CEOs on Monday, ahead of the national budget (on February 1) and asked them to invest in creating top-ranking global enterprises within the country. The PM said he is is committed to continue with the reform agenda of his government which aims to create an enabling environment for businesses with policy certainty and ease of compliance.
“Prime Minister @narendramodi interacts with leading CEOs of companies across banking, infrastructure, automobiles, telecom, consumer goods, textile, renewables, hospitality, technology, healthcare, space, electronics, etc,” official twitter handle of Press Information Bureau (PIB) said.
“This is one of the many interactions being done by PM @narendramodi ahead of the budget to receive inputs and suggestions from the private sector,” PIB said in another tweet.
The two-hour long meeting took place on the backdrop of rapidly spreading Omicron variant of Covid-19 that has spooked global markets and threatens global economic growth at a time when India has witnessed robust economic recovery after the two waves of pandemic.
After the meeting Kenichi Ayukawa, CEO & MD of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd said: “If Mr Modi is here, we can invest. In addition to his grand vision, PLI [Production Linked Incentive] scheme and other policy support will help development and growth of industry. So it is very positive.”
“Our Prime Minister has a grand vision and ambition for India. Motor industry is fully committed to contribute to his grand vision by making India a manufacturing hub for the world, increasing exports, and increasing localisation,” he said adding that most foreign investors would invest in India because of policy certainty.
{{/usCountry}}“Our Prime Minister has a grand vision and ambition for India. Motor industry is fully committed to contribute to his grand vision by making India a manufacturing hub for the world, increasing exports, and increasing localisation,” he said adding that most foreign investors would invest in India because of policy certainty.
{{/usCountry}}With the PM’s dynamic leadership, what was really evident today, was “a very bold and confident” India, Mallika Srinivasan, chairman and managing director of Tractors and Farm Equipment Ltd said.
“The whole interaction today was about how do we take India forward. And, I think, it was a wonderful interaction. It was open and we could freely communicate our thoughts. The PM is a very patient listener,” she said.
What is most important is the PM’s focus on research, innovation and his belief in the capacity that India has to step way beyond where we are, said Rajesh Gopinathan, CEO & MD, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
“He has laid out a very clear vision statement saying that in every sector, in every industry, in every area that we are, we should be in the top five in the global rankings, and if possible, number one. That kind of attitude, that kind of tone from the top, I think, will energise the country to go way beyond our current success and strive for something much more... like getting an Olympic gold medal,” he added.
Uday Kotak, CEO, Kotak Mahindra Bank said the time has come for Indian business, Indian industry, India’s banking and the financial sector to think about scale without fear. “And I’m very enthused about the potential of India... Indian banking and finance is out there ready to support industry across... sustainability, inclusion, digital and infrastructure,” he said.
“We will grow, we will make India happen. And Indian financial sector will make India happen as per the dreams of the Prime Minister,” he added.
The meeting took place immediately after two official reports on the economy. The recovery in domestic economic activity is turning increasingly broad-based, with the expanding vaccination coverage, slump in fresh Covid-19 cases and rapid normalisation of mobility, the monetary policy committee of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its economic outlook on December 8.
It, however, cautioned that “volatile commodity prices, persisting global supply disruptions, new mutations of the virus and financial market volatility” may pose downside risks to its outlook. India’s GDP growth will be 9.5% in the year to March 2022, the committee predicted.
Another government report has warned of potential disruption in India’s economic growth momentum due to Omicron. “Omicron, a new variant of Covid-19, may pose a fresh risk to the ongoing global recovery,” the finance ministry said in its monthly economic report on December 11.
Last week, on Friday PM had also hosted a roundtable interaction with representatives of venture capital and private equity funds. “It has been the constant endeavour of the Prime Minister to boost the investment climate of the country,” the government said in a statement after the meeting. “The discussion in the meeting happened on similar lines, while also illustrating how the Prime Minister is interacting personally with industry leaders to gather inputs ahead of the next budget.”
Earlier last week, on Wednesday, Modi met Gita Gopinath, chief economist of the International Monetary Fund who will take over as first managing director of the fund in January.
India is projected to grow at 9.5% in 2021 and 8.5% in 2022, highest among major economies, and ahead of China’s 8% and 5.6% growth in the respective periods, e IMF said in its October update of the World Economic Outlook.
The Covid-19 outbreak last year and the 68-day nationwide hard lockdown had a devastating impact on the economy. India’s GDP shrank 24.4% in the first fiscal quarter ended June 2020. It plunged into a technical recession – negative growth for two consecutive quarters – as it contracted 7.4% in the next three months.
Thereafter, the economy saw a V-shaped recovery on the back of a ₹20.97 trillion stimulus package and policy reforms announced since March 2020. A positive 0.5% growth was reported in the third quarter, followed by 1.6% expansion in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2021.
The India economy started the current fiscal year with a record 20.1% expansion in the first quarter, signalling a strong revival in business activities. It saw 8.4% growth in the second quarter ended September on the back of increased government spending and exports, official data show.