Sanjeev Ranjan, Managing Director, International Copper Association India, has said clear transparent policies and their implementation is a must, if any investment cycle is to be started in any segment.
Speaking about the Budget expectations, Ranjan said policies on FDI (foreign direct investment) in real estate, infrastructure, including the power sector initiatives to help restart stalled projects particularly in the power, coal, roads and railways would be of great help to the growth of economy.
The International Copper Association (ICA) India is a member of the Copper Alliance and the Indian arm of the International Copper Association Limited, the not-for-profit organisation for the promotion of copper worldwide. ICA India actively associates with the growing number of copper users in India.
“The biggest challenge the Finance minister is set to face in his budget preparation would be how to balance growth versus inflation, and at the same time help in creating new jobs especially in the manufacturing sector,'' Ranjan said. Currently, manufacturing contributes just 16 per cent to India’s GDP, which needs to be at least 25 per cent if we are to address 12 million people joining the workforce.
Given the rising oil prices, poor monsoon and inflation (CPI) already nearing double digits, the challenges become even more testing, he added.
“We expect the government to announce fiscal incentives for new capex, where we can see encouraging participation from sovereign debt funds of countries like Japan, China, Germany, France, Saudi Arabia. This will do well to balance the shortfall in $1 trillion investment plan which the 12th five year plan talks about for infrastructure development,'' he said.
Stating that the Indian economy is basically consumption driven, which would mean extension of sops for demand creation, he said the need of the hour was to de-bottleneck the supply side, “otherwise it may lead to further inflation. The waiver of excise duty till December 14, is a positive step for demand creation and a matching increase in productivity from the supply side will be of great help,'' he added.