Govt assured of action soon to revive industry, push eco growth: India Inc
New Delhi: India Inc on Thursday said the government has assured to take action soon to revive the industry and push economic growth, which is showing signs of a slowdown.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and ministry officials met captains of the industry on Thursday to deliberate upon the issues about the economy and sagging industrial growth.
JSW Group Chairman Sajjan Jindal said: "It was decided that the government is going to take action very soon to revive the industry and it is a matter of sentiments. We got positive feedback from the finance minister".
The minister in clear terms gave assurance that "very soon" solution would be found, he said, adding the industry is suffering from issues in sectors like steel, NBFC, and automobile.
Piramal Enterprises Chairman Ajay Piramal said that the industry raised several matters such as reluctance of banks to lend to the industry.
"It is not that there was a lack of liquidity in the banks, but lending was not taking place. There is stress on the economy as far as NBFC sector was concerned," he told reporters after the meeting.
He added that the NBFC issue is impacting sectors like auto, home loan, and MSME.
"I am told that there will be action soon. So, we will wait for that," he said.
It was also assured by the government in the meeting that punitive penal provisions concerning non-compliance with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) spending norms under the companies law would not be pursued.
Piramal said that the industry demanded that oversight on CSR spending should not result in any imprisonment.
Further Vice-President CII T V Narendran said that the government sought views on ways to further stimulate the country's economic growth.
"Across the board, we discussed the key issues," he said adding slowdown in the auto industry would have an implication on the steel sector.
Former Ficci President Jyotsna Suri said that the cut in interest rates should be passed on to borrowers.
Assocham President B K Goenka sought stimulus package to kick start investment cycle in the economy.
With current slowdown in the global and domestic market, there is a need to have quick-fix solutions, he said.
The industry chamber suggested a stimulus package of over Rs 1 lakh crore.
