Liquidity crunch is mostly behind us, says Tata Sons' N Chandrasekran

Chandrasekran said the goods and services tax (GST) regime and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) are historic decisions.

The liquidity crunch that had gripped various sectors after the IL&FS crisis is mostly behind us, said N Chandrasekran, chairman, Tata Sons at ExpressAdda, an Indian Express event on Tuesday.  

“There are issues here and there, but this issue (liquidity) is behind us,” he said.

On the possibility of India becoming a $5-trillion economy, he said, “I think it is possible. To achieve anything, you need to have aspiration.”

He added: “The Indian market has huge potential. There are a number of trends like urbanisation, rising middle class, etc, which are irreversible.”

He said the goods and services tax (GST) regime and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) are historic decisions.

“Whether it’s the IBC or the GST,  to my mind these are historic decisions. I don’t think  anybody will say these are wrong decisions, but the speed at which things have to happen has to be better.” 

Sometimes, he explained, it is better to allow things to happen “in a fall forward manner” —  one may not be perfect, but one has to keep getting up after a fall.

He however, added some decisions “that are large have to be executed right, close to expectation, otherwise they lose momentum.” Touching upon the banking sector’s non-performing assets (NPAs), he pointed out, “We are taking a lot of time to correct problems like NPAs. There is a slowdown in these corrections and they have to happen fast to bring confidence back in economy."

On Rahul Bajaj’s criticism of the Centre, he said, “This government works harder than anyone else. I have not found a situation where I cannot put my point across to them. However, I cannot say whether that input will be implemented.”