New CII chief comes with 100-day recipe for new govt

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) President Ajay Shriram on Tuesday came out with a 100-day agenda for the new government after the elections, prescribing immediate introduction of a Goods and Services Tax (GST), containing of subsidies and fast-tracking of stalled projects by devising a mechanism at the ground level in states.

On a day when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) refused to accept chambers' demands for rate cuts, Shriram also suggested monetary easing to spur economic growth, which CII pegged at 6.5 per cent for 2014-15. The economy is officially projected to grow 4.9 per cent in 2013-14.

On the Congress' promise to evolve a consensus for job reservations in the private sector, he said: "We feel having reservation in the private sector is not a desirable direction. We have focused, as an association, very strongly on affirmative action". CII would discuss the matter with the party, he added.

The new president said a strong inter-ministerial coordination group was required to resolve sticky issues like the "mining conundrum" and "raw material securitisation" for sectors like steel.

"Economic growth and investments have stagnated. We require rapid economic growth for job creation. We will share the agenda with the new government and discuss each point with them. Implementation of GST will boost GDP by 1.5-2 per cent," he told mediapersons after taking over as the CII chief.

Though exuuding confidence that 6.5 per cent growth could be achieved in the current financial year with reforms, Shiram, however, cautioned in case of a fractured mandate in the ensuing general elections, "there would be loss of investor confidence and jobs would be destroyed in the organised sector with no signs of economic reforms".

A strong economic revival package and right implementation of policies by the new government could help create as many as 150 million jobs in the next 10 years, said Chairman and Senior Managing Director of DCM Shriram.

Shriram said in this year CII would focus on 10 areas -- education, skills, economic growth, manufacturing, investments, ease of doing business, export competitiveness, legal and regulatory architecture, labour law reforms and entrepreneurship.