The rupee is undervalued at the moment and its volatility needs to be eliminated, said K. V. Kamath, Chairman, ICICI Bank, at an event organised by the Indian Merchants’ Chamber at Mumbai University.
Without speculating on the upcoming monetary policy to be announced by the new RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan on September 20, Kamath said the policy ought to follow our local conditions primarily and certain overseas announcements such as the US Fed’s decision on QE tapering.
Growth, Jobs
Stating that we have a narrow definition of the priority sector and growth indeed is coming from rural India, Kamath added: “We need to have a rural focus rather than focus on just agriculture. Today, value-added agriculture businesses, conservation of waste in agriculture and other industries in the rural space are all contributing to economic dynamism in rural India.”
According to him, the most painful aspects are the job losses in the infrastructure sector, which do not get highlighted, and the lack of new jobs in the manufacturing sector.
These, he said, need to be corrected for healthy economic growth.
The ICICI Bank chief said action is, however, being taken on investments.
Modi as PM candidate
Over the last 15 years, all governments have done good for the country, but the Gujarat model, Kamath said, is one to be proud of.
“I can’t see why it cannot be replicated on a national level because other chief ministers are trying to understand and build on it,” he added.