The country should look at attaining a GDP growth of 10%, says Bharti Enterprises vice-chairman and managing director Rajan Bharti Mittal, who took over as the new president of Ficci last week. In an interview with FE?s Neha Pal, he talks about his agenda, the need to attract more foreign investments and the timely implementation of GST. Excerpts:
What is your agenda as the new president of Ficci?
Ficci?s top priority will be to work closely with the government on the implementation of goods and services tax (GST) by April 1, 2011. This is one of the most urgent tax reforms that the country needs since it will clear up indirect taxation. We will also be focusing on the implementation of the direct tax code by 2011, something Ficci has been asking for a long time.
What are your plans to bring more investments and boost growth rate in the country?
Our job is to bridge the gap between companies and the government. Investments have been the prime driver of growth over the last few years and we are working on ?Invest India? project which is a joint venture between the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) and Ficci. In this project, Ficci holds a stake of 51% and the government, the remaining 49%. ?Invest India? will provide information clarity to companies on different departments and norms at state and central level. If there are issues arising at any level, Invest India will assist in ironing them out. This initiative will help in attracting more investments in the country.
What is your take on the Budget?
It is a growth-oriented Budget and is a good start by the government for the year. For the first time so much emphasis has been laid on infrastructure. We would have been happier if MAT had not been increased. On the one hand, there are good changes in the income tax slabs, while on the other there has been an increase in MAT by 3%, so somewhere it defeats the purpose.
The government has begun to roll back the stimulus provided in order to kick-start the economy. What is your view on the issue?
The government should continue with the stimulus package for some more time, especially for sectors like exports and small and medium sectors as these are the areas that still need support. The partial rollback of the stimulus packages is a step in the right direction. The need for stimulus and its timeline depends on the health of the industry. Also, the government will have to see the sector-wise performance and then take a stand.
There is lot of emphasis on public-private partnerships these days. What is your take on it?
We need to have more public-private partnerships, especially in sectors like education and healthcare. The PPP business model will definitely be a big success in the country.
Ficci wants that there should be a strong collaboration between the industry, the Centre and states to tide over the infrastructure gaps. The country should look at raising the GDP growth to 10% from 7-7.5%.