“Private Sector has to be Involved in India’s Growth Story” Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman at BCIC Gathering

At an exclusive interactive session organized by the Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC) this Sunday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that India’s growing and aspiring needs, as well as demands, cannot be only served by Central and State governments. She also emphasized the need for involvement and participation from the private sectors in order to meet these demands.

Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman at BCIC Gathering

“While the government should play the role of the facilitator, the private sector ought to be the growth driver of the economy,” she said at the session. 

Ms. Sitharaman also spoke about the successful dissemination of COVID vaccines to around 100 countries and highlighted the role played by the private sector in helping project India’s image as a ‘global friend’.

The Finance Minister also explained how the recently presented Union budget intends to be the provider of directional change for the economy in this post-pandemic world.

“We will eventually control the fiscal deficit and not leave it unattended. Fiscal management is a key focus area for the government,” she added.

View the Full BCIC Exclusive Interactive Session with Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman at: cutt.ly/WlhBhXI

In his opening remarks, Mr. TR Parasuraman, President, BCIC, hailed the Union Budget presented by the FM Nirmala Sitharaman as the “greatest of the decade” and added that every sector is celebrating it. He also said the target of $5 trillion economies by 2025 is no longer a dream as is the intent for the manufacturing sector to contribute 25% to the economy.

Mr. Parasuraman also added that while the fiscal deficit target of 9.5% is challenging, it would help propel India’s growth.

Mr. KR Sekar, Senior Vice-President of BCIC, termed the Budget an “important” one and called it a “milestone”. He said that it is committed to infrastructure spending, education, and health care. “A cultural corridor should be created pan-India to help boost tourism and increase infrastructure spend; profit-linked scheme should also include R&D, Goodwill should not be kept retrospective, and clarity should be given on the reassessment of tax to clarify that only evaders would be punished,” said Sekar regarding BCIC’s post-Budget suggestions. 

BCIC Official Website: www.bcic.in.

Mr. Azim Premji [Founder Chairman, Wipro Ltd.]; Mr. Mohandas Pai [Chairman, Manipal Global Education Services Pvt. Ltd.]; Dr. Devi Shetty [Founder and Chairman, Narayana Health]; and Mr. Ravi Raghavan [CEO and MD, Bharat Fritz Werner Ltd.] shared their respective suggestions with Ms. Sitharaman.

Mr. Premji complimented the government’s role in enabling work from home which resulted in the growth in the Tech sector by 2.3% during this fiscal as well as creation of 1,38,000 net new jobs. He exhorted the government to engage the private sector in administering Covid vaccinations in large numbers and also stressed the need for all Indians to contribute to charity in some measure.

Mr. Mohandas Pai spoke about the need to invest in intellectual capital in various sectors; the need to liberalize the policy environment for start-ups; and the need for a push towards digital education.

Dr. Devi Shetty emphasized the need to have a national strategy to get $100 billion annual remittances from health workers in five years and emphasized the need to modify the curriculum to PBL to help candidates clear entrance tests. Dr. Shetty added that this would help increase the supply chain of qualified doctors and nurses from India.

Mr. Raghavan lauded the PLI scheme, calling it a great initiative, but also pointed that some more interventions are needed and the government should help the manufacturing sector focus on the end product. He added digitization would help improve the functioning of the manufacturing sector.

Towards the end of the session, the Finance Minister received various questions from the audience and was receptive to all suggestions they provided. BCIC also presented the post-Budget memorandum and Supplemental Report on Digital Transformation to the Honourable Minister at the event.