Tata Group Chairman Cyrus Mistry today met Commerce and Industry Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman amid calls from industry to take steps to revive investment climate and stimulate demand in the wake of industrial production slowing down to a five-month low in August.
The meeting was a courtesy call by Mistry, according to sources.
In June Mistry had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose government is working to reboot the economy. He and Tata Group Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata were unable to attend Modi’s swearing in on May 26 as they were travelling abroad.
Industrial production growth remained subdued at five-month low of 0.4 per cent in August prompting the industry to raise pitch for bold reforms to spur the economy.
Factory output measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) growth remained slow in August mainly due to contraction in manufacturing output and lower offtake of consumer goods. The index had also grown at a meagre rate of 0.4 per cent in August 2013.
Industry chamber CII had asked government to take steps to revive investment and stimulate demand in the economy. The chamber had sought expediting execution of approved projects and providing a competitive market for coal and mining sectors.
Tata group’s total revenue grew by 18.5 per cent in 2013-14 at Rs 6,24,757 crore ($103.27 billion) from Rs 5,27,047 crore ($96.79 billion) in the previous fiscal.
The group comprises over 100 companies in seven business verticals — communications and IT, engineering, materials, services, energy, consumer products and chemicals. It has operations in more than 100 countries across six continents, and exports products and services to over 150 countries.