India Inc seeks more reforms at PM's 'chai pe charcha'

Industry captains gave thumbs-up to a slew of reforms by the central government to boost investments and spur economic growth.

In a two-and-a-half hour long interactive meeting with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Governor House, industry majors strongly emphasised the need for more reforms, further simplification of processes, policy and regulatory certainty to help India maintain its leadership.

In his remarks, Modi asked the industry to be a partner in the development and provide feedback to the government to make necessary improvements. He said the  government’s focus on agriculture, manufacturing, healthcare, education, transportation and infrastructure development will help the country grow at a faster speed.

About 45 representatives of the Indian industry, including Reliance Industries Ltd chairman Mukesh Ambani, Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra, Piramal Group chairman Ajay Piramal, Kotak Bank MD & CEO Uday Kotak, HDFC chairman Deepak Parikh, Godrej Group chairman Adi Godrej, Kalyani Group chairman Baba Kalyani, RPG Group chairman Harsh Goenka, Sun Pharma chairman Dilip Shanghvi, SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar, BSE CEO Ashish Chauhan and Securities and Exchange Board of India chairman Ajay Tyagi, were present at the meeting.

One of the industry leaders, who did not want to be identified, told DNA Money, “At the outset, industry representatives welcomed the launch of Goods & Services Tax, Bankruptcy Code and Ease of Doing Business initiatives. Besides, the government’s steps to boost mobility, which is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, were hailed.’’

He said the industry representatives were quite bullish over the ambitious Housing For All and Affordable Housing programme, terming it a game-changer.

However, they also emphasised on the need for further collaboration between private and public sectors.

Besides, industry leaders complemented the central government’s Bharatmala and Sagarmala connectivity projects, saying that they will boost the road and port led developments.