After Parekh's remarks, damage control by Sitharaman

Nirmala Sitharaman, minister of state for commerce and industry, on Friday wooed Indian industry by saying the government would soon take steps that would have a visible impact on the ground.

She added the government was willing to listen to the grievances of Indian businessmen and address these after holding consultations with them.

In a recent interview, HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh had said businessmen were starting to get impatient, as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government had done nothing to improve ease of doing business in India.

Speaking at the seventh Global CSR (corporate social responsibility) Summit cum Responsible Organisation Excellence Awards, Sitharaman said, “The 10 years of lethargy cannot be removed in 10 months, unless all of us are putting our energy together...I am sure from now, you (industry) will probably say a lot of things are happening on the ground. You are the ones who will be able to speak about it first.”

She assured the NDA government wasn’t only making statements but “also trying to show it to you”. Since coming to power in May 2014, the government had undertaken as many as 40 reforms for the benefit of industry, one of these being the Companies Act, she said.

The government “is in a hurry to perform not because it wants to secure a point but I think the economy has waited for too long”, she said. “The hurry is because of that. We want to move to different platforms and levels quickly, simultaneously, and in a sure-footed manner,” she said, adding it would require lot of effort, energy and following up to the logical ends.