Give weekly reforms report
Despite repeated announcements over the past four months about a fresh push for economic reforms and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s hard talk about rekindling the business community’s “animal spirits”, the perception of an uncertain business climate still persists, whether it is in the power, telecom or infrastructure sectors.
In the case of power, fuel — coal and gas — still remains the biggest hurdle, and in spite of high-powered ministerial committees in the Prime Minister’s Office, major power companies still talk of hardships. This week a major Russian fund official referred to the need for a more “predictable investment climate” in India.
The situation raises serious concern especially as job creation, according to one survey, was down by 21 per cent in 2012. The situation doesn’t look too bright on the employment front, particularly in engineering, IT and ITes-related sectors. Manufacturing, which is traditionally a large employment generator, has seen a slowdown in the past two years, down from a trajectory of 8-9 per cent to a compounded annual growth rate of 2.5 per cent in 2010-12, going by one study. The government’s National Manufacturing Policy does not appear to have taken off. The reasons are the historical impediments of land acquisition, labour laws, poor infrastructure, etc.
We have repeatedly suggested that the only way to monitor the reforms process in various areas is to provide a weekly report card of what has been achieved. It’s only this way that issues holding back investment and growth can be tackled effectively.
Post new comment