Several new projects seen to power lasting industrial upturn in the next six to nine monthsOur Corporate Bureau
There are clear signs of an industrial revival in the next six to nine months, according to industry secretary T R Prasad. According to him, the gross domestic product of the country is likely to grow at a rate of 6 per cent in the current year.
Addressing a seminar on reinventing industrial surge organised by Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Assocham) in New Delhi yesterday, Prasad said several new power projects would start production in the next six to nine months. Progress had also been made in roads, ports and telecommunications, he said.
There will be a significant upturn in economy in the next six to nine months and it will last. Today the problem is not at the policy level but at the operational level, he said, and cautioned the industry against attaching too much importance to statistics and predicting a gloomy picture. We should not be swayed too much by short-term data, he said.
The industry secretary conceded that the sharp drop in capital expenditure had affected the demand for basic goods like steel and cement which in turn had slowed down the housing sector activity.
However, the slow-down has not been pervasive. It is a mixed bag. Some sectors are doing well and some others are not, he said.
The garment and automobile sectors were already showing excellent growth and the exports had picked up, he said, adding that the industry will receive a boost due to various policy measures like credit policy and infusion of funds through pay commission.
Prasad also announced that import cargo will be cleared within two days from December 1 as a result of the steps taken by the government to simplify procedures.Referring to the currency crisis facing South-East Asian economies, Prasad said the country was well insulated from it due to prudent fiscal management.
Assocham president H L Somany asked the government to urgently usher in a systematic second-wave of economic reforms to take the economy out of the sluggish trends.
He said the reason for the current industrial slowdown was inconsistency and ad-hocism on the policy front.
