PHD Chamber pitches for more public investment, infusion of adequate credit to industry and rationalization of taxes to give a fillip to the economy which is constrained by lack of demand and severe liquidity crunch.
Addressing a press conference today in Delhi, immediately after taking over as the President of the PHD Chamber, Mr. Satish Bagrodia, said, “the immediate challenge is to rekindle business sentiment by creating an environment conducive to growth. The only way this can be achieved is by contemplating bold demand inducing measures and addressing the issue of credit availability to industry. The fiscal stimulus announced by the Government so far is too small to make much of a difference to the sagging business confidence.”
Mr. Bagrodia said that priority should be given to a major expansion of public investment in infrastructure including early completion of projects under the National Highway Development Project, most of which are behind schedule. There is need to facilitate public private partnerships (PPPs) in providing infrastructure services at an accelerated pace in India. He also called for intensifying initiatives for facilitating human resource development / skill development and bridging the skill deficit in the economy. Improving the quality of education and encouraging market oriented vocational education should also receive immediate attention.
Apart from ensuring the availability of adequate finance at cost effective rates, Mr Bagrodia said that the government also needs to look into the problems in land acquisition and the delays in environmental clearances which have become a major bottleneck in all infrastructure projects. “We would continue to engage in an interactive discussion with the Union Ministries, Planning Commission as well as State Governments for creating appropriate institutional mechanisms and modernising the policy and regulatory framework for facilitating investments,” he added.
Pitching for immediate attention for boosting the housing sector, PHD Chamber President suggested that there is an estimated shortage of 25 million housing units in the country. Focussed measures are required to provide affordable housing to the masses and to reduce the cost of housing units .
Calling for reduction of tax burden from around 30 per cent to 25 per cent to stimulate demand Mr. Bagrodia said that there should be fine tuning of taxation structure against the backdrop of the current economic slowdown. Government is witnessing a fall in tax collection, but industry would like to see a more favourable tax policy - some reduction in rates, combined with broadening the tax base and greater tax efficiency to make up for the revenue loss. Also, there is need for providing a clear roadmap for Implementation of GST - Industry would like to see a Draft legislation / structure to be shared with them at least one year in advance so that transition issues could be addressed and we smoothly move to the new system.
Referring to steps that are required for boosting exports from the country, the PHD President said that exporters are looking towards the government for providing them supportive infrastructure, timely export credit at internationally competitive rates and a conducive policy framework, which ensures simplified and transparent procedures for exports. Local taxes / levies paid by the exporters add to the cost of the final product. Hence the State Governments should exempt export products from such levies. Rationalization of labour laws is also of critical importance. Managers should be given the right to manage.
Mr. Bagrodia called for initiating reforms in the agriculture sector to achieve inclusive growth. About 65% of Indians live on agriculture, which accounts for less than 18% of GDP. They need to be shifted to more productive livelihoods (agri-processing near the farms and dairy farming with modern techniques may be economical in view of the farm land shrinkages.)
As a part of PHD Chamber’s efforts to promote industry-academia partnership and to give a fillip to PHD Chamber’s Skill Development initiative, Mr Bagrodia, announced the Chamber’s foray into formal education with the launch of Punjab Technical University’s (PTUs) innovative B.Tech.- Industrial Engineering & Management (Specialisation in TQM) programme for working professionals in Delhi and NCR. The Programme will be conducted by PTU’s first School of Excellence, PTU's Gian Jyoti School of TQM and Entrepreneurship (PGSTE), in association with PHD Chamber, according to Shri Bagrodia. Emphasising the need for continuing education, PHD Chamber President dwelt on the need for revamp of our university education to prepare students for meeting the challenges of industry. National dedication to Total Quality Management (TQM) and its elevation to the status of a national cult has become a must, Shri Satish Bagrodia added. The unique B.Tech Programme in TQM would provide a meaningful option for career advancement through higher education. It would groom professionals who can apply modern TQM practices and business excellence concepts in their work-life. The progrmme is designed to increase the employability of the science graduates and diploma holders who undertake this B.Tech Programme.
