Vinayak Chatterjee: Stimulus package for the infra sector

Seriously concerned about the slowdown in the infra sector, a group of CEOs from the sector – under the auspices of the Confederation of Indian Industry – have been meeting leading lights of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), PM’s Economic Advisory Council, Cabinet Secretariat and the ministries concerned to discuss and present their ideas on “high-impact” solutions in the near term. These CEOs – from Larsen and Toubro, Thermax, Hindustan Construction Company, GVK, Feedback Infra, Tata Power and Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation, among others – have interacted intensively with the government over the months of May and June.

This article presents a summary of the 15 key recommendations that are presumed to be implementable in the short term. Based on executive action, these do not require significant obeisance or genuflecting before coalition politics. These suggestions are also capable of providing a substantial stimulus to the infra sector and, hence, to the economy. It is time to roll up our sleeves and get back into an energetic, “nation-building” action mode. We know what is to be done. Let us do it.