IRB and CNBC-TV18 Discusses 'What India Wants'

Analyzing Budget Expectation from India Inc.

IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd. and CNBC-TV18, India’s No. 1 business medium, presented ‘What India Wants’, an exclusive forum that explored options of what India needs from Budget 2011 based on two panel discussions with different industry heads from the fields of banking, finance and corporate India anchored by Ms. Latha Venkatesh, Associate Editor, Financial Markets, CNBC-TV18 and Ms. Menaka Doshi, Corporate Editor, CNBC-TV18 in the city recently.

The first panel discussion comprised of eminent panelists such as Mr. N Shivaraman, Director, L&T Finance; Mr. Koushik Chatterjee, Group Chief Financial Officer, Tata Steel Limited and Mr. Hemant Contractor, CFO, SBI who discussed “Whether inflation as the biggest macro issue facing the economy today or not” conducted by Latha Venkatesh.

During the second panel discussion, Menaka Doshi found out the expectation of India Inc. from Budget 2011. This panel discussion included Mr. Ashok Wadhwa, Group CEO, Ambit; Mr. Seshagiri Rao, Joint MD, JSW and Mr. D D Rathi, ED, Aditya Birla Group.

Commenting on “Whether inflation as the biggest macro issue facing the economy today or not”, Mr. Koushik Chatterjee, Group Chief Financial Officer, Tata Steel Limited said, “Low Inflation and High growth, theoretically, are incompatible objectives. There is a careful balance to be undertaken between chasing growth because growth is a multiplier of future economic activity, especially with deficit numbers being so high. Thus, managing the fiscal deficit every year and also channelizing policy decisions which facilitate the growth are certainly the highest priority. The budget to me is not only a ways and means statement, but it is the direction of the economic policy, which we revisit every year.”

Speaking about tax giveaways, Mr. Chatterjee added, “Yes, deficit needs to be tackled but not through higher taxes but expenditure cuts.”

Adding further, Mr. N Shivaraman, Director, L&T Finance said, “Deficit itself doesn’t worry me much. It is the uncertainty of the interest rates and where they are headed is the major problem especially as someone who raises funds to support infrastructure projects.”

From a banking perspective, Mr. Hemant Contractor, CFO, SBI said, “There hasn’t been a quantum jump in the borrowings and the market also has largely been able to absorb the marginal increase in borrowings. In the context of rising interest rates, what is more of a concern is that the debt burden of the government is going to increase, because the cost of these borrowings is going to be pretty high.”

Speaking on the confidence that India Inc. currently enjoys as we go into this budget making exercise, Mr. D D Rathi, Group ED, Aditya Birla Group said, “I think focus has to be on restoring the confidence of the business community and addressing the governance issue which has emerged as a key element as of today.”

Adding to that Mr. Ashok Wadhwa, Group CEO, Ambit said, “We have never experienced the confidence levels of India Inc. dip so sharply in the many years. In November – December 2010, Consumption and aspiration of consumption was growing, investment mood was extremely buoyant, and people were talking about expanding capacity. Suddenly, inflation is high, economic reforms has taken a backseat, politics has taken a front seat and we are aware of the lack of good governance which has affected our confidence level, not just in India, but in the biggest community, which in many ways is responsible for capital contribution in this country, the whole institutional investor community.”

Mr. Seshagiri Rao, Joint MD, JSW said, “Business confidence has dipped in the last two months but directionally is it so low that the corporate cannot take any growth plans, I do not agree.”

Concluding, coming closer to the budget, India Inc. has minimalistic expectations from the Budget 2011.

About CNBC TV18: 
CNBC-TV 18 is India's No.1 business medium and the undisputed leader in business news. And its leadership epitomizes the fact that India means business. It delivers quality and involved audiences that comprise a comprehensive viewership base greater than similar offerings in the business space across all media. The channel's benchmark coverage extends from corporate news, financial markets coverage, expert perspective on investing and management to industry verticals and beyond. CNBC-TV18 has been constantly innovating with new genres of programming that helps make business more relevant to different constituencies across the country. CNBC-TV18 is currently available in over 30 million households in India.