ASSOCHAM agenda for new govt; seeks corruption-free India

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SME Times News Bureau | 25 Feb, 2014
In the midst of high decibel electioneering the ASSOCHAM has reached out to major political parties, including the BJP, Congress, AAP government and other key formations setting an economic agenda for the next government with emphasis on removal of corruption along with building massive infrastructure, new cities and financial reforms so that job creation is possible through nine percent and above growth.

In a note submitted to the political parties for consideration in their manifesto the chamber says, "Let governance and economy be the main issue of the slugfest between the mainline contestants to the next government at the Centre. It is imperative that electoral discourse and governance agenda should accord top priority to the economic well-being of the nation."

It says while there has been a steady improvement in public discourse about the issues facing the nation, it was time the politics of caste and religion be replaced with the governance issues, including the menace of corruption which has become so much all pervasive that it is taking a big toll on the average citizen and the business community.

"Let different parties present their model of remedy so that the process of governance becomes less of discretionary and more of system-driven. Besides, let judicial reforms and infrastructure be strengthened in a way that the trials of corruption cases are speeded up and disposed in a matter of months….The economic growth cannot be achieved unless the public faith in the rule of law and clean governance is established….The parties aspiring for power must share their road-maps to the conviction of the voters," the ASSOCHAM document for the political parties said.

Above all, the chamber appealed to all political parties to avoid making promises of free electricity, heavily subsidized cooking and motor fuel. "Because such doles will drain the exchequer leaving very little for development and then questions would be raised again on governance."

Listing out specific suggestions for the new Prime Minister who the chamber wishes would be heading a stable government, it said if the investment climate is improved considerably and unnecessary roadblocks removed, a huge of money can be put into urban infrastructure in the existing and new cities.

The incomplete job of building dedicated railway freight corridors should be speeded upand along Delhi-Mumbai, work must also start on four other such projects - Ludhiana to Kochi port via Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Nagpur; Chennai-Bangalore high speed freight line; Mumbai-Kolkata route through Nagpur and Raipur-Katni; Kolkata-Chennai dedicated freight corridor.

Alongside, metro projects for all cities with a population of above 5 million should be prioritized. At least 100 new airports be built so that highly employment-oriented aviation sector gets a boost.

"The sector has a huge multiplier and leaves a great positive impact on the entire tourism value chain." The Public-Private–Partnership model, which was successfully implemented in modernizing Mumbai and Delhi airports and building new ports like Mundra, should be replicated for the development of modern container terminals and equipment in ports.

One of the challenging jobs for the new Prime Minister would be to restore investor confidence in the highways. To speed up the National Highways Programme, PPP model should be revamped with model contracts, subventions or viability gap funding across at least seven years, providing full security to the builders and tax exemption for the building equipment.