Only promises, no action — Industry

NEW DELHI, DEC 16: Despite all the reassuring speeches at various fora by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Finance Minister Yashwan...

NEW DELHI, DEC 16: Despite all the reassuring speeches at various fora by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha over the last two months, the slow pace of implementation of reforms continues to keep domestic industry sulking.

The pessimism is more visible in the manufacturing sector. When asked to comment on the current economic scenario on the sidelines of Ficciâ€™s annual general meeting, Essar group chairman Shashi Ruia remarked, "The mood is bad, bad and bad." The industryâ€™s basic complaint is the poor pace of implementation of reforms. As Bharti group chairman Sunil Mittal put it, "Delay in implementation of policies is what worries us most. Take the telecom sector, we have the policy in place, but implementation is lacking. The government also needs to strengthen anti-dumping mechanism."

Another prominent industrialist, who did not want to be quoted for obvious reasons said, "The Prime Minister and his cabinet colleagues are making a lot of noises over the measures the government is going to take. But the ground reality is completely different. We have heard so many speeches but where is the action?" The depressed mood is taking its toll on fresh investment by the industry. According to Hari Shankar Singhania, president of JK group and only one of the two Indians to have been chairman of the International Chambers of Commerce, "We (industry) need confidence to move ahead. The government should take bold decisions. I understand that the government is doing something, but the world is moving at a much faster pace. The pace of policy decisions has to match global standards."

However, there are some optimists who believe that companies can survive and even thrive in the current scenario, provided they become smarter.

In Odisha, Modi mounts ‘loot tantra-vs-bachat utsav’ attack on Congress over GST

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday hailed the revised Goods and Services Tax (GST) structures, saying the era of “double bachat (saving) and double kamai (income)” has arrived under the Bharatiya Janata Party rule. Addressing the ' Namo Yuva Samabesh' in Jharsuguda, Modi accused the Congress of indulging in “loot tantra (tactics)” while in power.

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