There is an overall sense that if we need a faster rate of industrialisation, ease of doing business has to happen, said Sinha. Representational image
Government has supported industry to ensure that better practices and systems are provided and the whole speed and agility with which approvals and clearances are given to facilitate more industrialisation, said Dr Praveer Sinha
At a time when the growth projection for the Indian economy is an increase of around 7 per cent in the GDP, industry body CII has said that the Ease of Business Index needs to be better. “The ease of business has definitely improved. But it is at 55 per cent to 60 per cent. It is better than what it was five years ago. But it is still a long way to go,” said Dr Praveer Sinha, chairperson of the western region of the Confederation of Indian Industry. The CII recently conducted a survey among industry leaders for various parameters and sentiments within the community.
“The government has taken numerous steps for ease of doing business. Digital technology has supported us in the process of getting approvals. Many of the laws have changed. They have been made simpler. Many of the laws have been removed and the requirements have been removed. There is an overall sense that if we need a faster rate of industrialisation, ease of doing business has to happen. And India has done reasonably well in terms of global improvements that have happened in its ranking,” Sinha told CNN-News18.
When asked about the roadmap for India at 100, he said, “Vision 100 is about growth for India. It is about sustainable growth. We take care of the climate change aspect as we also take care of efficiency and productivity. I think that is the 100 years of India’s vision that CII wants to see.”
When asked about any specific policy inputs that the industry body would like to give, he said, “Policy suggestion is about how we make things simpler for the Indian industry. The ease of doing business is one big area. Government has supported industry to ensure that better practices and systems are provided and the whole speed and agility with which approvals and clearances are given to facilitate more industrialisation.”
Speaking about the expected growth in the coming financial year, he said the projection was anywhere between 6.5 to 7 per cent increase in the GDP. “India is poised for good growth. There are traditional businesses, but new industries are coming up too. There is disruption in traditional industries. So while the automobile sector continues to grow, it is moving towards electric vehicles, leading to a requirement for change in the ecosystem itself,” Sinha said.
CII is a 9,000-member-strong organisation. It has representation from the private as well as public sectors, including SMEs and MNCs, and an indirect membership of over 3,00,000 enterprises from 286 national and regional sectoral industry bodies. “Policy advocacy is one of the most critical areas of our work in the region and it cuts across all our interventions across sectors. CII has representation on 49 government committees and task forces across four states in the region. Cll continued to reinforce its position as the first port of call for the government with continued partnership on mega state-relevant initiatives and deep engagement on policy matters,” a press release issued by the body said.
Dr Praveer Sinha said that the areas of focus for the body are competitiveness, sustainability, strengthening infrastructure, education, and skilling among youth.