Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his maiden speech to the Lok Sabha raised some key issues that are important for the country’s development. He expressed pride in India’s democracy which should be an example to the world and will be an asset in India’s diplomatic engagements. He also outlined his development agenda in which the central idea is to deliver better services to the poor. “CII fully endorses his dream of providing housing for all and ensuring that modern amenities including electricity, broadband connectivity, sanitation and education reach every household,” said CII President, Mr Ajay Shriram.

The Prime Minister’s emphasis on improving agricultural productivity is timely. The productivity of most major crops is lower in India compared to most other countries and improvement in agricultural techniques can bring about improvement. This will increase supply of food products, make farming more remunerative and have an impact on controlling food inflation. This is in line with CII’s view that a focused approach towards easing supply-side issues in agriculture is required.

CII is happy to note that special mention of skill development was made by the Prime Minister as a means to empower our workforce. This is an area in which CII has made many pioneering interventions. According to CII, the existing educational framework needs to be overhauled in order to develop a relevant framework to provide skills training to the vast majority of our labour force.

Finally, it is heartening to note that the Prime Minister proposes to work with the States in a spirit of co-operative federalism. India is a diverse country and yet it needs to co-operate on certain key issues. CII hopes that the States will co-operate to enable an early implementation of the GST, which will provide a boost to economic activity in the country. A spirit of competition among States will also help attract investments by improving the investment climate.

CII expects that the effort to start implementing the President’s agenda will begin soon, as promised by the Prime Minister. “CII is keen to work with the government on the proposed agenda, particularly in the areas where industry involvement is required,” added Mr Shriram.

New Delhi