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    India Inc bosses list out expectations from NDA 2.0: Focus on tourism, improve education system

    Synopsis

    Veterans from different industries reveal their wish list for NDA 2.0.

    ET's dualpane - 2019-05-25T160046.916Agencies
    Peter Kerkar, Group CEO, Cox & Kings Ltd. (L) and Dilip Kapur, Chairperson & founder, Hidesign (R).
    The BJP's massive win in the 16th Lok Sabha Elections made PM Modi the first-ever non-Congress PM to return for a second consecutive term with a majority. While this means the NDA gets another-five years to stand tall on its promises, industry leaders already have their wish list ready.

    We asked some veterans across different industries about their expectations from NDA 2.0, and how the reforms can benefit the economy.

    Excerpts
    :

    Peter Kerkar, Group CEO, Cox & Kings Ltd.
    "Tourism contributes over nine per cent to the GDP annually, and this has had a multiplier effect on both development and job creation. The government should increase its focus on tourism and speed up tourism projects in destinations that have the carrying capacity to absorb tourists in large numbers. Last mile connectivity from major metros to tourism destinations will act as a catalyst to double the tourism numbers and thereby contribute to overall development.

    "Another major area that the government should focus on is increasing the air seat capacity to India as this is one major challenge that the country's tourism faces when it comes to attracting more overseas visitors. On the domestic front, the UDAAN scheme should be extended to more airports and help the private sector in making it viable."

    Dilip Kapur, Chairperson & founder, Hidesign
    "With a massive win across the country and a fresh five-year term we should go back to actual reform: less government, more governance. With labour intensive industries like leather and bag-making, the government needs to make it worthwhile to produce these goods in India. Labour reforms are required to free companies of political unions. Taxes should be lowered for the leather industry, which is extremely labour intensive and in which India has an advantage over China."

    Ashish Anand, CEO & MD, DAG

    Ashish Anand, CEO & MD, DAGAgencies

    “The government should take cognisance of the intrinsic link between arts and the economy, and how the arts sector can be a key transformative agent for the nation. Given the work that has already been done — such as the museums hub at the Red Fort and, within that, the public-private collaboration at Drishyakala, by DAG in collaboration with the ASI — we are convinced that the momentum will pick up pace in historical centres around the country.”

    Vineet Nayar, Founder, Sampark Foundation

    Vineet Nayar, Founder, Sampark FoundationAgencies

    “The Prime Minister must take necessary steps towards reforming the education system in India. India’s public education system takes care of 146 million children – and barring a few examples, the quality of education available is still a matter of deep concern. India has the world’s largest youth population. If not tackled in time, India’s education crisis can turn our demographic dividend into our biggest challenge. We need to fight education inequality to fight economic and other debilitating inequalities in the country."


    Rajesh Ramakrishnan, Managing Director, Perfetti Van Melle India
    “The political stability should hopefully lead to economic stability and acceleration of reforms that can further fuel employment and hence consumption (both urban and rural).”

    Anand Kripalu, MD and CEO, Diageo India

    Anand Kripalu, MD and CEO, Diageo India

    “A stable government is indeed welcome for the nation and economy. The new government should reinforce its progressive policies towards industry, and usher in the next phase of reforms to promote ease of doing business and ‘making in India’. We look towards the federal government to encourage states to urgently bring comprehensive regulatory reform into key state-GDP contributing sectors such as alcoholic beverages.”

    Sanjay Dutt, MD & CEO, Tata Realty & Infrastructure Limited and Tata Housing Development Company
    “The election results is good news for the real estate sector. We witnessed significant movement in the infrastructure and real estate sector along with the rise in GDP that resulted in job opportunities and confidence in the real estate sector. With the stability in the government, we expect investments to increase and private equity will play a larger role.”

    Sameer Nayar, Founder and CEO, BuildSupply

    SameerNayarAgencies

    "The historic mandate provided by the people of India gives the new government ability to push through massive reforms. The affordable housing sector has been provided tremendous impetus in the last few years along with industry wide reform through RERA. We hope the focus continues to be on the revival of growth for this space by pushing more sectoral reforms that help the industry and the end consumer. This mandate could be a game changer in addressing the housing shortage for India."

    Avneet Singh, Managing Director, Medusa Beverages Pvt. Ltd.
    “We hope this significant mandate keeps up the thrust on reforms in the economy, and further enables the liquor & beverage industry to come under the umbrella of GST and provide stability and growth in the market.”

    ( Originally published on May 25, 2019 )
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