Amid consistently dismal news on the economic front, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been, since the last week of December, engaged in a series of meetings with business leaders, entrepreneurs and tech czars on how to address sector specific and macro economic issues.
According to top sources in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the idea for such a series of interactions (eight till now and seven more to follow), came after Mr. Modi addressed the centenary meet of the industry body, ASSOCHAM, on December 20 last year. “During his speech there, Prime Minister Modi had asked for honest feedback from industry on the economy, and the meetings have followed after that,” said a source.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi poses for a group photo with Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, Tata Group patriarch Ratan Tata, Business tycoon Anand Mahindra and others during an interaction with leading business stalwarts to discuss ways to improve growth and job creation, in New Delhi, on January 6, 2020.
India Inc bigwigs such as Mukesh Ambani, Anand Mahindra, L.M. Naik and Anil Agarwal among others were in one meeting with start-up honchos scheduled for another to be held. “Meetings have so far been held with 12 Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) from the textile and apparel sector, 13 CEOs from retail, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies, medium and small scale enterprises and renewable energy, 12 representatives from banking and finance sector and 12 office-bearers of South Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry [Surat] who discussed issues on both textiles and diamond sectors,” said the source.
A member of one of these groups said the interaction, which took place in Delhi, went on for more than two hours and Prime Minister Modi repeatedly told the group that he wanted “honest feedback” on their respective sectors.
With the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth projected at a very low 5% for 2019-20 and other indicators also pointing towards a slowdown, the Union Budget is being anticipated with equal measure of hope and trepidation. While the Finance Ministry has taken several measures including significant cut in the corporate tax, a programme of disinvestment and a huge fund for infrastructure, Prime Minister Modi has clearly identified the economic climate as challenging and is asking for all hands on deck.
Published - January 08, 2020 06:58 pm IST
