According
to Mr. Suresh Prabhu, Minister for Commerce and Industry, India’s growth story
looks more promising than ever before. Mr. Prabhu was speaking at a session on
Manufacturing: Making Progress in India at the India Economic Summit being
organized by the World Economic Forum and the Confederation of Indian Industry
(CII) in New Delhi from October 4-6, 2017. Mr. Prabhu stated that the objective
of the government is to make India one of the easiest places in the world to do
business.
The
Minister stated that the government is encouraging emerging industries while
simultaneously trying to modernize traditional industries such as textiles. The
government is also boosting adoption of Artificial Intelligence and
Robotics in the traditional industries. He said that the government is creating
demand in the country by stepping up public sector investment in sectors such
as the railways.
Mr
Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog said that Indian companies cannot grow based on
domestic demand alone and need to explore ways to tap into global supply
chains. He was of the view that Indian companies should focus on developing
quality and excellence, and grow MSMEs into larger entities to compete in
the overseas market. Focus needs to be given to development of coastal zones to
promote exports.
Mr.
Prashant Ruia, Director, Essar stated that tremendous progress has been made in
the power sector in India and the country is generating about 80,000 MW of
surplus power at the moment. The focus of the government is now on providing
reliable power to every paying customer.
According
to Mr. Sanjeev Sharma, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, ABB, the
focus of the energy sector is now shifting towards promotion of energy
efficient technologies and deployment of new technology to manage networks
better.
Mr.
Sumit Sawhney, Country Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Groupe
Renault stated that the automotive sector in India is working at 65% capacity
and the challenge is to utilize the balance 35%. He believed that as demand in
the rest of the world picks up, this excess capacity would be ulilised.
New Delhi
October 5, 2017