No.PR-36
April 28, 2020
New Delhi
Opening up of economic activities has to be an efficient trade-off between saving lives and saving livelihood, Shri Suresh Prabhu, Hon’ble Member of Parliament
Shri Suresh Prabhu, Hon’ble Member of Parliament, appreciated PHD for organising the interactive webinar in these crucial times and said that in his long association with PHD Chamber It has been noticed that the Chamber thinks for the country and its future and always presents a well thought of proposal to the government.
The representations and suggestions submitted by PHD Chmaber to the government, both long term and short term are all very useful and effective and it is the time we think of an efficient exit option from the lock down to resume and revive economic activities, said Shri Prabhu.
While reopening we need to keep in mind that the industry cannot be opened in isolation, the whole ecosystem along with the related supply chains needs to be revived and restarted. We should follow the Chinese model of revival through specific geographical openings for economic activities in areas which are marked green and keeping the hotspot districts completely locked, till there is full containment in those areas, said Hon’ble Member of Parliament.
This is the time India needs to take advantage of the crises and convert it into an opportunity, we set our National goal of getting Foreign Direct Investments to India and each citizen and all arms of the government must work towards this common goal with complete alignment of reforms, said Shri Prabhu.
Businesses are the most important part of the economy, as they are significant contributors to economic growth and progress, said Shri Prabhu
Shri Suresh Prabhu, promised that he will forward all the Chamber’s representations and suggestions to the respective Ministries and shall personally work on them as it is the need of the hour to ensure that the industries resume economic activities and continue to grow and progress.
India now needs to work on ‘Please of doing business’ rather than ‘ease of doing business’, as we need to now motivate the industrialist and support businesses to resume economic activities and generate employment and contribute towards nation building, said Shri Suresh Prabhu.
Dr D K Aggarwal, President, PHD Chamber, in his presidential address mentioned that the mere presence and guidance from stalwarts like Shri Suresh Prabhu Ji, Hon’ble Member of Parliament, gives us immense confidence when in these times where everything has come to a halt and the confidence level of the entrepreneurs is at the lowest.
The Indian Industry is faced with significant uncertainty on whether the lockdown will be extended and in these circumstances is getting more confused. In this critical time the industry is eagerly looking for a stimulus package and any further delay in it is getting the industrialist to panic more, said Dr D K Aggarwal.
PHD Chamber in its numerous representations presented to the government has asked for few urgent measures to be undertaken like in all the green areas the economic activity should be resume immediately, but these activities should not start in isolation but the entire ecosystem need to be revived with 50% manpower, observing all hygiene and safety precautions, as guided by the WHO and the government of India, said Dr Aggarwal.
There is a need for Rs 16 lakh crore package which amounts to a total of 7% of the GDP, to revive and boost economic growth, the government should pay 50% of the salaries for the MSME workers and create liquidity by providing 25% automatic increase in working capital limits to the industry without any fresh applications The 1.9% GDP growth, as estimated by a Fitch group, in the year 2020 – 21 will have a major adverse impact on the Indian industry, many MSMEs and industries will be wiped out completely leading to unemployment and creating further panic , said Dr Aggarwal.
Mr Sanjay Aggarwal, Senior Vice President, while welcoming Shri Suresh Prabhu Ji, referred to him as the foremost thinkers and doers of the country, and said the National Infrastructure Pipeline of Rs 100 lakh crore should now be frontloaded rather than back loaded, with some revisions in it like 1/5th of the total amount which is Rs 20 lakh crores in the first year, with focus on those projects which are labour incentives to create more employment post Covid – 19.
Indian needs to build on soft infrastructure and concentrate on encouraging vocational studies, elevating its education standard, medical and social infrastructure, judiciary, among others which will help in building a strong future, said Mr Aggarwal
Mr Pradeep Multani, Vice President, PHD Chamber, said that India needs to take drastic steps immediately to grab the opportunity lying ahead for India to attract foreign investments. He also urged the government to look towards the AYUSH sector as only 3 % of the health budget is allocated to the AYUSH sector and the rest 97% goes to the allopathy system of the Health sector, which needs a serious recheck and the government needs to do more for the AYUSH sector. Mr Mukesh Gupta, Chair, Media and entertainment Committee, PHD Chamber welcomed Shri Suresh Prabhu Ji and said that we should promote Make in India products, both domestically and globally.
The webinar was attended by My Anil Khaitan, Former President PHD Chamber, Dr.Yogesh Srivastav, Principal Director, Moderated the session & Mr Saurabh Sanyal, Secretary General, PHD Chamber and other senior PHD members and over 150 people from the industry.
Ends
Media Division
PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry