Reviving growth and job creation key priorities, says CII President

“With tremendous opportunities available in the Indian economy, further strengthening of the growth process and job creation is on the horizon,” said Shobana Kamineni, President, CII, while addressing the media. The reform agenda has picked up with substantive policies such as the Goods and Services Tax (GST), insolvency and bankruptcy norms, FDI liberalisation and ease of doing business being implemented. Conditions are positive for an economic recovery in the current year, with GDP growth expected to lie in the range of 7.5-8.0 per cent.

 

“One of the key priorities for CII this year would be to help revive domestic investment, which has been flagging and the economy has been growing largely on the back of exceptionally high government spending on infrastructure, etc.,” Kamineni said.

 

“(The) industry is completely ready for introduction of the landmark tax reform from July 1, 2017. CII has been calling for a single national tax for the last ten years and we will try to make its implementation as smooth as possible,” said the CII President.

 

“It is possible to target 1 per cent additional growth each year to reach 10 per cent in the next three years. The drivers for this step-up in growth would include the benefits from implementation of GST, greater participation of women in the labour force, the urbanisation process which will drive greater economic activity in areas such as construction and government spending of up to Rs 30 trillion in various infrastructure projects over the next few years,” Kamineni added.

 

A CII estimate shows that the entire construction sector can add 30 million jobs in the next 10 years. Total spending of Rs 30 trillion is envisaged over the next 4-5 years under projects such as the investment program of the Indian Railways, 20,000 km of highway building under the Bharatmala project and Sagarmala for port-led development. “Our conservative forecast is based on these projects; India’s GDP could increase by as much as 50 per cent over the next five years. Similar increases in job creation can also be expected,” the CII President added.