NEW DELHI: India is set to return to higher growth trajectory as the policy makers have begun to take a consolidated view of existing economic imperatives for execution of pending mega projects and the Cabinet Committee on Investment (CCI) is facilitating speedier approvals, said Mr. Montek Singh Ahluwallia, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission.
Ahluwalia was speaking at the session on ‘Industry in conversation with Government’ here today at the 86th Annual General Meeting of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
The CCI through inter- ministerial and inter-state consultations was aggressively working towards executing clearances for pending projects which will inject large doses of investment into the economy and stimulate growth, he said.
Earlier, the government was unable to aggressively seek consensus on its policies, which led to mistrust as these were subjected to be excessive examination and scrutiny by Constitutional machineries under media glare, thereby affecting growth prospects, he said.
However, in the last two to three months, some policy decisions were initiated by the different arms of the government in broad manner, the results of which are being seen at the ground; their full fuition will appear in the near future, Mr. Singh said.
Praful Patel, Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, admitted that the policies, especially those of economic nature, were poorly administered during the tenure of UPA II on account as the regime could not press the throttle on the execution of mega projects as compared to its performance earlier. No board and straight-forward decisions were taken and the government came under severe attack from different quarters for its policy paralysis, he added.
However, the minister felt that in the last few months, some economic decisions were taken to revive the growth sentiment. He concurred with Mr. Ahluwalia that their impact would be positively felt by the economy and demand, growth and employment would look up.
Mr Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, the Minister of State for Power (Independent Charge ),in his address, said that his ministry was able to ensure that 157 fuel supply agreements for power generation were signed with the concerned stakeholders despite many hassles. Efforts were on to conclude the 15 pending fuel supply agreement as early as possible to ensure that that power shortage does not constrain the quest for higher growth.
The minister said that the phase of non-execution of policies was over and now ways are opening up to restore growth to a higher level. The Power Ministry has convened a meeting of its advisory boards on December 24, where decision would be taken on the constraints faced by the power sector for securing stability in investments and growth.
Past presidents of FICCI, Mr Y K Modi, Mr. Harsh Pati Singhania, Mr Harsh Mariwala and Mr R V Kanoria, the outgoing and incoming Presidents, Ms. Naina Lal Kidwai and Mr Sidharth Birla, demanded that the focus of the government should be on execution of its policies rather than broadening the basket of its existing policies to revive demand and eradicate corruption to restore growth
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