Tag: CII

India’s manufacturing export showing green shoots, says CII president R Dinesh

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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CII President R Dinesh has called for a continuation of the pause on rate hikes by the RBI and a change in stance from hawkish to neutral, indicating that with the right signals from the industry, it was quite important for growth of the economy.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18’s Shereen Bhan, Dinesh described India as an island of growth in the global economy, with more than 15 percent of the global growth expected from the country.

While emphasising the importance of keeping inflation in check, he mentioned that the market is showing positive signals. Dinesh stated that the situation needs to be observed until October to determine if there will be a pause and a change in stance.

On the industrial front, he said all sectors were showing utilisation over 75 percent, with machinery reaching 80 percent, and this was a significant indicator as machinery is supplied to all sectors.

He affirmed that the private sector remains committed to future growth through continued capital expenditure, and this was 79 percent more than the previous year.

The industry has been looking to boost services exports but has noticed green shoots in the manufacturing sector. There was also growth in foreign investment aimed towards increasing exports, he said.

In this regard, the CII is optimistic about the government’s efforts to expedite negotiations for free trade agreements.

Also read: India is likely to grow around 7.8% in the next decade: CII President

Dinesh said that CII continues to collaborate with states to foster economic growth. While some areas are experiencing progress, others face challenges. CII is providing support to states to attract the right sectors and enhance their presentation. Additionally, a national land bank is being developed to attract more manufacturing investments.

In the MSME sector, the CII is actively engaged in augmenting skill capacity and preparing to play a role for future needs.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Climate crisis transcends all political, economic spats: European Commission’s Frans Timmermans

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice President of the European Commission, emphasised the urgent need for collective action to address the climate crisis. He said climate crisis transcends all political and economic interest differences and called for an end to the illusion that inaction will solve the problem.

Speaking at the Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) annual session, Timmermans stressed that procrastination will only increase the costs associated with tackling climate change. Looking ahead to the next Conference of the Parties (COP) conference in Dubai, he called for a focus on creating sustainable jobs and fostering economic growth while staying within planetary limits.

He stressed the need for global players to take on global responsibilities to effectively combat the climate crisis and achieve a sustainable future.

Highlighting China’s impressive achievement of adding 40 GW of solar energy capacity in just four months, Timmermans recognised this as a massive opportunity for global renewable energy expansion. He urged the international community to set clear goals for the generation of renewable energy on the global stage.

Also Read: On the Record — CII | Experts share views on economic stability and capital allocation

In order to successfully address the climate crisis, Timmermans argued, “We can’t face the climate crisis if we can’t convince our constituents that the transition will be just.” and further pointed out that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are major job creators in any economy.  He emphasised the need to provide direct access to capital for SMEs to facilitate their transition to sustainable practices.

Timmermans drew attention to Europe’s youth unemployment rate of 6 percent, attributing it to the consequences of the conflict initiated by Russia. He stressed the importance of establishing a clear price on carbon, as decarbonisation cannot be achieved without it. He also called for support for SMEs during the transition process.

Comparing the approaches of the United States and Europe, Timmermans noted that the US tends to rely on tax relief and financial incentives rather than regulatory measures. He emphasised the significance of regulatory stability in Europe’s climate action efforts.

Recognising India’s high levels of engineering education, Timmermans highlighted the country’s potential to provide innovative solutions in areas such as air capture, electrolysers, and wind turbines. He urged the need for supply chains that extend beyond European borders.

Also Read: RBI guv Shaktikanta Das says a definitive change in monetary policy not in his hands

He emphasised the need to establish a comprehensible and long-term carbon pricing system to attract financing for decarbonisation efforts. He noted that even the US — as the inventors of the market economy — is yet to develop such a model.

Acknowledging Europe’s shortcomings in supporting businesses to invest in risky areas for energy transition, Timmermans called for increased backing of ventures in this field. He also raised the issue of energy access, highlighting that 600 million Africans still lack access to reliable energy sources.

Timmermans commended American investments in energy transition but expressed concern over the potential for a protectionist system that could impede global economic progress. He emphasised the importance of discussions aimed at avoiding protectionism and preventing technology development that could harm other players in the market.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Bank-dominated system and over-regulation — The two concerns JPMorgan’s Leo Puri says India needs to overcome

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Leo Puri, JPMorgan Chase’s Chairman of South and South East Asia, believes financial deepening is one of India’s success stories. However, he feels this is still one of the disruptions that the economy needs.

“The big positive disruption that needs to occur in India is financial deepening and we can get there through the development of capital markets — part of that is technology-enabled and part of it is the confidence to integrate the gift city with global markets,” Puri said in a panel discussion at CII Annual Session 2023 on May 25.

According to Puri, bank and the capital markets still dominate India’s financial system. He believes India doesn’t have unhealthy capital markets but sub-scaled capital markets. “We need to keep revisiting this issue because we can’t expect ourselves to grow given our sensitivity to dependence on foreign flows,” he said.

Also Read: On the Record — CII | Experts share views on economic stability and capital allocation

Reflecting on the second issue, the JPMorgan top executive said while India has a well-regulated system, the time has come to debate if there is over-regulation in some dimensions of the development of the system.

When asked about the obstacles, he explained, “You need issuers and investors, and we haven’t had the institutional investor base. We have had a heavy reliance on LIC and a few others. We have a problem in terms of the development of an investor base.”

According to him, while India has tried to be fair to open up to sectors like insurance and mutual funds, it tends to be a little contradictory in its approach.

“For example, if you want the asset management sector to contribute to capital market development, you can’t over regulate risks that occur in the asset management sector. Each time you have a credit crisis or a loss of capital or a write down in a risk bearing bond fund, your reaction is to say asset managers should not buy bonds.”

Also Read: CII President Sanjiv Bajaj calls for institutionalised approach to funding India’s startup space

He said this approach, in effect, slows down the development of a capital market because the market needs a spectrum of issuers and a spectrum of investors buying a range of yield and risk in that market. “We end up over-indexing on investor protection and inadvertently prevent the development of a risk spectrum which is part of what you need for a deep capital market,” he said.

Watch the accompanying video for more.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

On the Record — CII | Experts share views on economic stability and capital allocation

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Prominent economists and financial experts shared their insights on the current state of the global economy and the financial systems of specific countries. In a CNBC-TV18 special show, On the Record – CII, V Anantha Nageswaran, Chief Economic Adviser (CEA); Leo Puri, Chairman — South and SE Asia, JPMorgan Chase; Kaku Nakhate, President and Country Head — India  at Bank of America; and Sivasubramanian Ramann, Chairman and MD at SIDBI, offered their perspectives on various aspects of monetary policy, economic health, and capital allocation.

During this interview, V Anantha Nageswaran discussed the possibility of rate cuts in the United States. He expressed skepticism, stating, “(I) don’t believe rate cuts are imminent in the US.” Nageswaran’s statement suggests that he does not anticipate the Federal Reserve making any immediate adjustments to interest rates. This perspective indicates a potential continuation of stable monetary policy in the US for the foreseeable future.

Also Read | CEA Anantha Nageswaran has three tips for financiers funding green projects

Leo Puri shed light on the overall health of the financial system, specifically focusing on developments over the past five to seven years. Puri confidently remarked, “The financial system is healthier than it was five-seven years ago.”

Puri also discussed India’s progress in capital allocation. According to him, “As a system, we are allocating capital more efficiently.”

Kaku Nakhate focused on capital flows in India compared to the rest of the world. She remarked, “Capital flows in India are better than the world.”

Also Read | We need to create a ecosystem to foster startups, says Kaku Nakhate of Bank of America

Ramann discussed the significant role played by large capital flows from the government in catalysing the economy.

The infusion of substantial capital from the government has been instrumental in driving economic growth and development in India. Ramann highlighted the transformative impact of these capital flows on various sectors, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs). He emphasised how these financial injections have provided a much-needed boost to the entrepreneurial ecosystem, enabling businesses to thrive and contribute to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

For more details, watch the accompanying video

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

We need to create a ecosystem to foster startups, says Kaku Nakhate of Bank of America

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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India might be fast becoming the startup capital of the world, but more needs to be done, including having a better ecosystem in place, for the sector to flourish, said Kaku Nakhate, President and Country Head — India, Bank of America. Nakhate was speaking on the second day of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Annual Plenary Session.

“We need to create an ecosystem to have more startups. They are getting a lot of funding because the new digitisation that we are seeing is actually fueled by new players — we do have a much better ecosystem than we had five years back. But we do need to go to the stage where capital is freely available for people,” she added.

Nakhate further mentioned that if we don’t create such an ecosystem then the unicorns in India are going to find it hard to survive.

“We have build 89 unicorns but will those unicorns stay unicorns? That is the big question,” she said.

Also read: India will be at least a $30 trillion economy by 2047-50: Piyush Goyal

Talking about the concerns with the capital market, she said they should think slightly differently.

“We do always protect the retail investor, but everything cannot be at the lowest base. We really need to have pools of capital looking at India plus the domestic to reach the $5 trillion mark,” she added.

Also read: Gender equity in finance key to achieve India’s $5-trillion economy target: RBI

India has set itself the goal of becoming a $5 trillion economy by 2026. The IMF’s World Economic Outlook earlier said the size of the Indian economy will increase from $3.2 trillion in 2021-22 to $3.5 trillion in 2022-23 and cross $5 trillion in 2026-27.

Also read: CII President Sanjiv Bajaj calls for institutionalised approach to funding India’s startup space

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

CEA Anantha Nageswaran has three tips for financiers funding green projects

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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“How do we create a competitive economy?” asked Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran at the beginning of his address at the ‘Building a robust financial sector for a competitive economy’ panel on the second day of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Annual Plenary Session on Thursday.

The CEA said energy is an important driver for economy and that energy security is coming under a lot of pressure because of geopolitical developments and climate change. “If there is a single-most important worry in my mind for sustaining the growth rate that we are being able to achieve in the last two to three years, it is energy security,” Nageswaran said.

He laid out three things that financiers and the financial sector must consider keeping in mind climate change and its impact on keeping the economy competitive.

1) Provide financing for adaptation and resilience, and not just emission mitigation.

Currently, there is a lot of importance from the developed world on the mitigation of carbon emissions, which Nageswaran believes is important. However, it is equally important for developing countries to ensure that there is adequate and affordable energy for powering growth, he said.

Also Read: Earth’s temperature could rise by 2.7°C, posing extreme heat risk to India’s population: Study

Citing the example of how carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere, he said the half life of the gas is 120 years. “For example, if someone emits 500kg carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in 2023, then 250kg of that will remain in the atmosphere in 2143 and so on. So at least 1kg of carbon dioxide will be in the atmosphere for 1,680 years, which means the carbon that is already there is going to exert its effect on global warming regardless of the mitigation efforts we undertake.”

Hence, he said we also need to adapt to the effects of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

2) We cannot completely swear off fossil fuels 

Nageswaran said completely swearing off fossil fuels is not the way to deal with the climate crisis.

He said India is well ahead of its target to balance the proportion of non-fossil fuel-fossil fuel in its energy mix, in terms of installed capacity, by 2030. However, it is also necessary to understand the important roles of fossil fuels.

“If the financial industry completely avoids funding fossil fuel-based power generation projects, then we will be placing the economic growth in jeopardy. And if we do that then the generation of fiscal and private sector resources will also be in jeopardy and therefore, our ability to provide the right kind of financing for dealing with climate change will also be in question,” he said.

Also Read: US debt ceiling 2023: twice bitten, no longer shy?

The CEA thinks it is wrong to assume that focusing on economic prosperity is inconsistent with the focus on climate change management. “Prosperity is a prerequisite for addressing climate change in the medium term, and financiers in the banking sector have to keep in mind that especially the economy has to remain competitive,” he said.

3) In the name of doing good, are we doing something bad?

When a project is misleading or giving false claims on having a positive impact on the environment, it is called greenwashing.

“But what if some of the projects that we think are genuinely green projects, actually end up causing damage to the environment with unintended consequences?” said Nageswaran.

He cited an example of a story done by Bloomberg a few months ago, in which it said aluminium was being extracted from the Amazon reserves to power electric vehicles of a US-based manufacturers. However, it was in turn causing damage to the lakes, rivers and water bodies in the region. Hence, the combined impact of the aluminium extraction for the purpose of powering electric vehicles, which are supposedly climate-friendly, was not exactly helping the environment.

“Hence, projects that on the face of it appear green friendly, may not necessarily be environmentally friendly when we take all the side effects and unintended consequences into consideration,” he said.

The CEA said the financiers must keep in mind what the costs of the projects they are funding are on the overall environemtn in the name of climate. “In orher words, are we, in the name of doing good, doing something bad, and therefore in the process affecting the economic and social wellbeing,” he said.

Also Read: Badly hit by unseasonal rains, Maharashtra farmers still await their crop damage compensation

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

CII President Sanjiv Bajaj calls for institutionalised approach to funding India’s startup space

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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India Inc. and the government need to take a more institutionalised approach to funding the country’s startup space, according to Sanjiv Bajaj, President of CII (Confederation of Indian Industry), and Chairman, MD & CEO of Bajaj Finserv. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Bajaj emphasised the need for competition in the lending space to avoid concentrated impact situations like the recent crash of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). 

“For any lending institution, particularly a bank, balancing and making sure that you have a conservative balance sheet is very important. Your ALM mismatches need to be minimal because otherwise, problems like SVB can arise. Secondly, this single bank SVB provided a significant part of their lending to startups and took care of their money. While I am sure they did a great job there but we clearly need some competition over there so that we don’t reach a situation of such concentrated impact like this one could have been,” Bajaj said.

He also stressed on the importance of a more holistic approach to funding startups, including working capital, debt, and equity. Given how India is the third-largest startup nation in the world, it needs a more “institutionalised” approach and it cannot be left to the larger independent environment, according to Bajaj.

He commented on the Indian economy’s recovery from the pandemic as well, calling for the country to “decouple” as far as the interest rate cycle is concerned. He noted that India is now in a good position for growth, with inflation coming under control and the government increasing infrastructure investment.

“We are seeing high capacity utilisations across multiple sectors on the private side and these sectors are ready for investment, but they need to see consistent demand-led growth. So, we hope that the RBI uses this as a trigger to pause and decouple as far as the interest rate cycle is concerned. And this should then put us on the firm path to growth. I realise that we are still very much part of a connected world but we have to be nimble if the situation changes dramatically down the line, one can always review,” he added.

Also Read: Silicon Valley Bank collapse | Will there be an impact on Fed’s decision, economists evaluate

Bajaj discussed the unequal growth seen in India, with the middle and upper-middle classes saving money while the lower-income classes struggled with the pandemic’s impact and inflation. Rural India also saw lower spending than urban areas. “I believe that while this year, we will close probably with a GDP of six percent growth, next year could be 6.5 percent. The opportunity for us is to see that how we align all our dots so that as we go into the next year, by the second half of next year, we start outgrowing these numbers,” he added.

Bajaj also noted that the country saw a significant shortage of jobs last year, which is “partly balanced” at the moment. Hiring, as per Bajaj, has started in a few sectors and based on further demand growth, the numbers could grow in the future.

“We are going through a phase where India is opening up to becoming that manufacturing and services hub for the world. This means we have to make sure that we have the right skilled jobs ready, we have to make sure that they are competitive and efficient.”

Talking about India becoming a manufacturing and services base for the world, Bajaj said, “we need to ensure that a high level of governance transparency, remains in what we do. But it’s equally important that we create keeping in mind what’s happening globally, but we create a set of policies that makes sense for us as a country, and we make sure that we have enough discussion and debate on them, and then open up a window in which we implement them.”

Also Read: India, US relaunch commercial dialogue on supply chain, establish semiconductor partnership

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Have been defending industry heavily, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that she has been defending the industry heavily and that the industry’s coordination with the government is now more calibrated.

“Industry has also started looking at India in a more holistic fashion rather than their own sectors. I find now industry is far more thinking about the country and looking at what’s coming out of the government’s budget making. This is very constructive and helps in gauging the economy better,” she said at an interaction with the CII National Council.

“This gives me confidence that industry has started taking cognisance of not just global challenges but within the country. I have been heavily defending the Indian industry ….I find great sensitivity for the challenges you are facing, your investment plans are now far more calibrated,” she said.

Sitharaman stressed that industry now has to go for technology that is sustainable and green as this is a key requirement for export and import.

FM Nirmala Sitharaman interacts with senior Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) members in Delhi@FollowCII @nsitharamanoffc https://t.co/iySg4pArmt

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18News) February 7, 2023

“Industry expansion now depends on technology which is sustainable. Industry will have to be SDG (sustainable development goals) compliant. you will have to produce green goods, you will also have to make sure that the consumption for your inputs are also going to be guided by green considerations, your transition for fuel from using fossil fuels to using green-based fuel.,” she said, adding that this has to be done now and cannot be postponed.

“The expectation on green commitments and the speed with which the industry has to move has stunned us. India has shown we can see through this glare. Industry will have to see they are no longer being stunned but move out of it. Industry will have to work hard to define its products as green and sustainable,” she said.

She asked the industry to talk to the government to see what is possible. “The ideas have to come from the industry; ideas will have to be futuristic. Industry has to also make sure the technology is born and cultivated in India.”

‘Open to GST-like Council for other sectors’

Sitharaman stressed on the need to push for reforms in coordination with states to achieve higher growth rate target, and the government is open to considering a body like the GST Council that comprises Centre and states.

Her statement came in response to a question on whether the government would consider an implementation body like the GST Council for some of the big implementation of reforms in land, education, labor and power as these are areas which still need some work to be done and the Centre can do only so much.

“Yes, of course, why not?” responded Sitharaman. “Because ultimately the objective is that we achieve that milestone, because the rate at which we need to grow, we may not be able to reach the rate unless many of these things in the ground are also simultaneously kicking, and any lethargy anywhere or any want of support anywhere is just going to hit at the larger goal as well.”

The GST Council has the Union Finance Minister and representatives from states to decide on a unified Goods and Services Taxes to be levied on various goods and services. It has replaced the earlier Value Added Tax and Sales Tax that were imposed by states independently of each other. The industry had said that it created complications during movement of products from one state to another.

Also read: FM Nirmala Sitharaman speaks on inflation, taxes, GDP and more. Read the full exclusive interview here

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

CII President Sanjiv Bajaj pins hope on Budget 2023 to boost consumption demand

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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As we count down to the Union Budget 2023, the last full budget ahead of the General Elections in 2024 all eyes are on the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Will Budget 2023 builds on the previous year’s announcements, or will the finance minister surprise the citizen and industry with some fresh triggers to accelerate growth?

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) like every year has come up with its recommendations for the finance minister ahead of the Union Budget. From the economic policy standpoint, they say the key focus should be on revenue augmentation and on growth strategies.

Interestingly, CII is also battling for a cut in personal income tax. They also recommend standardising holding periods and capital gains tax rates across asset classes.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Sanjiv Bajaj, President of CII expressed that the mood in the market is cautiously optimistic, with a sense of hope that the Budget will consolidate the issues faced by the economy and take it forward.

However, he emphasised the need for the government to adhere to the fiscal deficit target of 6.4 percent for this year in order to maintain financial stability. He acknowledged that the external situation is quite uncertain and that the government continues to focus aggressively on privatization and also focus on revenue augmentation as well as boosting consumption demands to revive the economy.

He said, “The government has been very focused on an investment-led growth strategy. We hope we continue to see that in the coming budget as well, with a 35 percent increase in public capex, like the previous year, we need to continue boosting consumption demand.”

Read Here | Budget 2023 Expectations updates: Freeze import duties for next five years, says GTRI

Bajaj also highlighted the fact that the people of the lower income level have been hit the most by the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation and expressed hope that the government will look at rationalising personal income tax for these groups.

Sanjiv Puri, vice president of CII expressed that there are signs of a pick-up in the rural economy, which presents a great opportunity for the government to expand its production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes in sectors like apparel and toys. He believes that these sectors have the potential to create jobs and drive economic growth.

Puri said, “The PLI schemes have worked well. There is an opportunity to expand it and there is some mention of it already through some large employment generation sectors, whether there’s apparel or toys, or footwear amongst others.”

He added, “To build on farm incomes, to exploit the full potential of agriculture I think the trajectory that has been started in earlier Budgets, with focus on inducing technology, with focus on aggregation through FPOs, the agri-infrastructure funds, I think those are the right steps and we should build on it.”

Read Here | Budget 2023 — Awaiting a deeper policy push into green energy and environment

Puri also emphasised the importance of the tourism sector, which has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. He urged the government to create enabling provisions for the tourism sector to flourish. He said that tourism can create 50 million jobs in the next few years, which can be a major boost to the economy.

Chandrajit Banerjee, director general at CII emphasised the need to focus on consumption demand and pursue investment-led growth. He said the government should look at introducing an employment-linked incentive scheme to boost job creation and increase the consumption demand.

Banerjee also highlighted the need for the government to increase allocation for capital expenditure (Capex) by 35 percent. He said this would help in creating more job opportunities and boost economic growth.

One of the key areas of focus for CII, according to R Dinesh, the President-designate, is the continuation of earlier steps taken to promote public-private partnerships (PPP). He noted that PPP has been on the CII agenda for a long time and that the organization is eager to see progress in this area.

Also Read | Budget 2023 | Defence sector expects mega boost in this year’s allocation

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

CII Business Confidence Index rebounds sharply to a two-year high in October-December

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The latest CII Business Confidence Index for the October-December quarter rebounded to its highest reading in almost two years of 67.6 from 62.2 in the previous quarter, reflecting optimism around India being in a ’sweet spot’ despite the rising global uncertainties, the industry body said on Sunday.

The sharp improvement in the value of the index was buttressed by the subsiding concerns around the impending recession and its impact on the Indian economy, CII stated.

The Index is based on the findings of a survey of over 120 firms of varying sizes across all industry sectors and regions of the country.

However, a majority (70 percent) of the survey respondents feel that the Indian economy will expand in a range of 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent in the current financial year ending March from 8.7 percent in the last fiscal year.

”Growth is expected to moderate further in the next year on global headwinds. Hence, to support growth, it is critical that RBI refrains from raising the interest rates any further,” the Confederation of Indian Industry stated.

The latest first advance estimates of GDP for the current fiscal put the GDP print at 7 percent. Nearly half of the respondents (47 percent) have indicated that they have already started feeling the impact of the policy rate hikes by the RBI on the overall economic activity, revealed the survey.

High interest rates have impinged on private investment levels too. Currently, most of the heavy lifting to support growth is being done by public capex, with private capex playing a supporting role, said CII.

Even as global economic growth is witnessing headwinds due to the tightening financial conditions and geopolitical tensions, an overwhelming 73 per cent of the survey respondents expect only a moderate impact on the Indian economy. The confidence among respondents stems from the fact that 86 per cent believe the government’s focus on infrastructure is the biggest positive for the Indian economy, followed by improvement in tax collections and good consumption recovery, said CII.

In addition to high borrowing costs, the prevailing heightened uncertainty has prevented firms from furthering their investment plans.

The survey results, however, present an encouraging prognosis, with 90 percent feeling that their company’s investment cycle will recover during the next fiscal year.

Around 52 percent expect recovery during the first half of the next fiscal year while about 37 percent foresee a pickup in investments by the second half. Nearly half of the survey respondents feel that the capacity utilisation levels in their companies would range between 75-100 percent during the October-December quarter.

It is encouraging to note that given its bearing on the overall economy, a recovery in the rural demand is eagerly awaited, and about 60 per cent of the respondents feel that a pick-up in rural consumption will take place in the next fiscal, said CII.

With a resumption of business activity, expectations for the October-December quarter have improved as the majority of the respondents anticipate an increase in sales (60 percent) and a count of new orders (55 percent).

Consequently, the profit outlook for the quarter has strengthened as nearly half of the respondents (47 percent) foresee an increase in profit margins, despite the majority of them indicating high input costs. Nonetheless, input price pressures, though still elevated, have moderated from the previous fiscal, with 51 per cent of the respondents expecting raw material costs to remain elevated during the Oct-Dec quarter as compared to 59 per cent in the previous quarter, CII said.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow