'India Inc expects Modi govt focus on rural economy'

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SME Times News Bureau | 25 May, 2015
On the eve of the Narendra Modi government completing one year in office, industry body Assocham said on Sunday that it expects further reform initiatives in the next two quarters along with more attention to the rural economy.

"Having taken several initiatives to unclog infrastructure projects and improve ease of doing business, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is expected to ive increased attention to the rural economy, although several of the financial inclusion programmes like the Jan Dhan Yojana would help the countryside," Associated Chambers of Commerce of India president Rana Kapoor said in a statement here.

He said there are select sectors of the economy which are under stress, including housing, real estate, banking and telecom.

Merchandise exports are also causing some anxiety of late with slowdown in global demand, he added.

"Some of the innovative initiatives like monetisation of gold would bring in much-needed stability in the country's balance of payment by way of reduction in gold imports. Besides, there are hopes that the GST (Goods and Services Tax) Bill would finally move towards a law," Kapoor said.

According to Assocham, domestic consumer demand has to be revived with improving the sentiment on employment opportunities to kick-start economic growth.

"Consumer demand and the employment prospects are closely connected. Sectors like tourism, aviation are some of the low-hanging fruits, which must be ripened and plucked. They will create huge employment opportunities along with creating an uptick for sectors such as construction and real estate," the chamber said.

A holistic view must be taken about public sector banks' distressed loans so that they are not left with large and uncontrolled non-performing assets, it added.

Assocham also welcomed the formation of an expert committee on resolving controversial taxation issues like the minimum alternate tax (MAT) for the foreign investors.