Comments
The UPA Government is considering a Natural Resource Investment SPV, Congress Party Vice-President Rahul Gandhi said on Saturday. “The idea is to obtain all clearances before auctioning projects to private players. This is a powerful and innovative idea,” Gandhi added without giving details of the proposed venture.
Addressing industry concerns at FICCI’s 86{+t}{+h} annual meet here, Gandhi said: “Many of you have expressed your frustration with environmental clearances that are delaying projects unduly. There is excessive administrative and judicial discretion. The loopholes are so big you can drive a truck through some of them!”
Terming industry as “stakeholders of the Congress Party”, Gandhi, who is the face of Congress for the 2014 general elections, said: “We cannot allow you to be held back by slow decision-making. Accountability has to be clear, fixed and time-bound.”
Referring to land acquisition hurdles, he said the black market in land has got to go. “We need to build a robust and open real estate market, so that businesses, especially small start-ups, have affordable access to land.”
In his first interaction with India Inc after the passage of the Lokpal Bill in Parliament, Rahul Gandhi also underlined his party’s commitment to deal with corruption and push growth.
Admitting that corruption was “bleeding people dry”, the Gandhi family scion admitted that “arbitrary powers” were holding up projects and called for a rules-based system for clearances
Listing various other pending anti-corruption Bills, he declared that the UPA government had done more than any other government to combat corruption. Calling upon India Inc to increase investment in education and R&D and drastically upgrade skill sets, the Congress vice-president said growth needed to be inclusive.
“We believe that economic prosperity must include everyone. Poverty is neither befitting of human dignity, nor is it conducive to good business,” he added.
On industry demand for labour reforms, he said: “Old labour laws have forced businesses to use contract labour. As you know, they are often underpaid and unprotected. India needs a modern and flexible labour market where labour has a fair share and is protected by international labour standards.”
Comments
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.