SME Times News Bureau | 27 Apr, 2013
Ahead of the annual monetary policy review of the
Reserve Bank of India on May 3, chief economic advisor Raghuram Rajan on Friday said
there is a scope for interest rate cut as inflation has come down.
"The Rabi crop is likely to be good one. That will help
bring inflation down. So as inflation comes down, there is case for RBI to cut
interest rate. I think, we have a case for stronger growth," Rajan said at
an event in New Delhi.
Rajan was
speaking at the inauguration of The Indus Entrepreneurs' (TiE) second India
Internet Day (IID).
In his speech, He exhorted entrepreneurs to work with the
government to create a better regulated business environment, which would be
neither over- nor under-regulated.
"Now is the time for entrepreneurs with ideas to create better businesses
and to make money. No one today grudges the process of wealth creation by
legitimate means," said Rajan, an alumnus of IIM and MIT.
Rajan admitted that the slowdown in India's growth was due to the lack of
institutional ability to grow. The process of allocation of natural resources
was also not seen as transparent, he said, according to a statement issued by
the TiE.
In this context, he cited the example of farmers dispossessed of their lands,
who felt that they did not get a fair deal by the educated and savvy buyers.
Rajan said that entrepreneurs and politicians are people with ideas.
Politicians sell their ideas by appealing to the electorate, wooing each
individual for one vote.
Entrepreneurs were luckier as they have to woo richer customers who could, once
convinced of the idea, product or service, buy more of the same product.
Rajan said that we need to give the masses an opportunity to educate themselves
and know their options and opportunities.
Though the right to education, a move to get inclusive growth has touched
nearly 98 percent of the target student population, the dropout rate continues
to be high, Rajan said, calling for technology solutions to offer mass quality
education.
Education is a means of helping all to get an opportunity to create wealth, he
said.
In a chat with leading Indian internet entrepreneur and TiE member, Sanjeev
Bikhchandani, Rajan said the government has been putting up infrastructure and
applications like the MCA-21 that can create an environment for businesses to
flourish without too much human intervention.
IID presented an opportunity for entrepreneurs to be mentored by seasoned
industry hands and investors on start-up challenges that emerge from converting
business plans into action points, understanding of marketing, sales and
operations and the complex task of raising funds.
TiE, founded in 1992 in Silicon Valley, has over 13,000 members and over 2,500
charter members in 61 chapters across 15 countries. Its mission is to foster
entrepreneurship globally through mentoring, networking, and education.