CII President Adi Godrej said that the GST (goods and services tax) has the capacity to push up the GDP (gross domestic product) by 1.5 per cent.

“We have suggested to the Union Government that the GST should be introduced at an early date. This will offer tremendous macro economic stimulus. We think that this is the single most important reform,” he said while addressing a press conference on Monday.

Talking about the declining growth rate of the GDP, he said that though India weathered the global crisis and grew at 8.4 per cent in 2009-10 and 2010-11, growth had declined in recent times and reached a low 5.4 per cent for the March 2012 quarter.

Discussing how economic growth could be boosted, he said, “We need to revive growth through reforms and governance.”

The CII plans to push for an increase in FDI (foreign direct investment) in areas like multi-brand retail, aviation, insurance and defence.

Godrej noted that in spite of slow overall growth, some States are showing double digit growth. “We are discussing reforms with the State Governments,” he said.

He said that while something like a Lokpal Bill was needed to fight corruption, it was not enough. He said that transparency was key to removing corruption.

“We have to improve e-governance. More e-governance means lesser corruption,” he answered while addressing a query.

He was critical of the continuing non-functioning of parliament and said, “We need to pass legislation in Parliament”.

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