Improving macro-economic environment to boost investors' confidence: PHD Chamber

The macro-economic situation of the country is improving in terms of inflation under control and the growth in the lead economic indicators such as IIP, core infra and exports. The real GDP of the country has improved to 5.5% in the first half of 2014-15 as compared to 5% in the corresponding period of 2013-14, said Mr. Alok B Shriram, President, PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry, in a press statement issued.

India is now better placed as compared to six months ago as economic fundamentals are improving and the economy is looking up, said Mr. Shriram.

At this juncture, the economy is emerging as an investment destination once again which is visible from recent Vibrant Gujarat Summit which witnessed signing of a whopping 21,000 Letters of Intent (LoI) worth Rs. 25 lakh crore.

The industrial environment is crucial for any economy to grow in the higher trajectory and the government has rightly focused to improve the investment environment of which improvement in the ease of doing business is on top of the agenda, he said.

We appreciate the recent policy pronouncements such as launch of Make in India, Digital India, repealing of archaic labour laws, approval to amendments in labour laws along with launching of labour portal.

Clearing of major infrastructure projects are inspiring and are expected to improve India's ranking in the ease of doing business index in the coming times, he added.

Looking ahead, revival of industrial activity should be at utmost priority and implementation of recent reform measures to ease the doing business in India are expected to re-capture the growth momentum, he said.

The government at this juncture must ensure easy availability of credit which would boost up investments and create a conducive business environment. We appreciate the recent move by RBI in which repo rate has been slashed by 25 bps. However, there is a need to lower it further atleast by 200 bps in the coming times as the cost of borrowings is significantly higher as compared with India's competitors in the international market.

Implementation of well designed Goods and Services Tax (GST) at the earliest, by reducing state border taxes, will have the important consequence of creating a pan India common market for goods and services, which will be critical for our growth in the coming times.

Acceleration of reforms undertaken by the new government at the state level would be critical for effective outcomes. The states witnessing higher growth in the manufacturing sector should be considered as model states and the growth strategies followed by these states should be adopted by other states also in order to boost growth of the manufacturing sector, he said.

There should be single window clearances with effective coordination between centre and state governments, said Mr. Shriram.

There should be complete overall re-hauling of transport system through increasing the capacity of railways, highways and expressways and physically linking every corner of the country to domestic and international markets through roads, railways, ports and airports, he said.

Going ahead, if the macro-economic stability is maintained, we expect economic growth to consolidate at 5.5% for the current financial year 2014-15 and we believe that would be a solid base to grow higher at around 6.5%-7% in the next financial year, said Mr. Alok B. Shriram.

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