India Inc. calls for lending rate cut to boost industrial output

India Inc. on Wednesday called for an easing of the monetary policy to give a boost to the country's industrial output.

Corporate India's calls for a reduction of key lending rates comes after the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed that on a sequential basis, the output rose slower than the revised estimates for April 2017.

According to the data, the country's factory output growth slowed to 1.7 per cent in May from 2.79 per cent in April.

Apex industry body Assocham pointed out that RBI's (Reserve Bank of India) stance to maintain the status quo on key lending rates has hit the expectations of the industry "though there was a room for rate cut".

Assocham's President Sandeep Jajodia said risks to the Indian economy continue to stem out from uncertainties in the global environment due to geo-political situations, including rising protectionism.

Besides, the industry body said that private investment continues to face several impediments in the form of corporate debt overhang and stress in the financial sector.

Commenting on the IIP numbers, Ficci Secretary General A. Didar Singh said: "The subdued growth in manufacturing is worrying as some of the major sectors like capital goods, automobile and textiles have shown degrowth. This further underlines the need for major reforms to improve the investment climate further".

"In view of the fall in consumer durable growth, reducing interest rates would help in stimulating demand and also reviving investments."

--IANS

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