Finance Minister P. Chidambaram will meet captains of industry on Wednesday to get “practical suggestions” on the steps needed to improve private sector confidence in the economy and spur investments.
Faltering economic growth this fiscal had prompted the Finance Minister to unleash a slew of economic reform as well as administrative steps in the recent weeks to reverse the weak investment sentiment.
While portfolio flows have surged, there is not much action as regards private investments in the real economy.
The focus of Wednesday’s meeting will be on the constrains and the practical ways to rev up investments and growth, not just short-term but medium-term, official sources said.
Manufacturing is an obvious focus, but so are the export sectors, textiles, pharmaceuticals and alternative energy, it was pointed out.
This will be the first time Chidambaram will meet captains of industry after assuming charge as Finance Minister on August 1.
Besides the heads of three apex industry chambers – R.V.Kanoria (FICCI), Adi Godrej (CII) and Rajkumar Dhoot (Assocham), the meeting will also be attended by Naina Lal Kidwai, Senior Vice- President, FICCI, and Kris Gopalakrishnan, President-Designate, CII, and several other industrialists.