For India to become a $5 trillion economy, the wealth will have to be created by the private sector and hence the government will privatise a lot of its assets across sectors in the coming months, said Amitabh Kant, chief executive officer, Niti Aayog.
“The government wants to be a facilitator and a catalyst, the wealth must be created by the private sector,” Mr. Kant said while speaking at the Morningstar Investment Conference.
“And this would require us to do several things which are both cyclical and structural... And therefore in the months to come, we will do a lot of asset monetisation and asset recycling,” he added.
The 1980 batch Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer further said that the government would privatise assets like roads, airports, power transmission and shipping terminals.
It is necessary to do that so that the private sector can come in and along with that credit flow can start, he said. On a different note, he said that structural reforms for the agricultural sector would soon be announced as the Committee of Chief Ministers headed by Devendra Fadnavis to suggest such reforms is on the verge of finalising its report.
“I’m sure that this would lead to some major structural reforms in the agriculture sector as well,” Mr. Kant said, adding that agriculture, along with gender parity and exports, were the key elements for India to grow significantly over a long period of time.
“India has a very vibrant private sector and a government which has the political will and the determination to take India to a $5 trillion economy. No doubt that will be achieved by 2024,” he concluded.
