Vice President, M. Venkaiah Naidu today called upon the private sector to play a bigger and more pro-active role in providing a huge thrust to infrastructure growth and boosting the economy.
Naidu said, “While the Union Government has taken a number of steps to revive the economy and create an investor-friendly climate, the industry must rise to the occasion, seize opportunities, promote competitiveness, innovation and strive for wealth creation and employment generation.”
Addressing the members of the Hyderabad Chapter of CEO Clubs India, the Vice President observed that with the coordination and cooperation between industry, government and academia, India has the potential to emerge as a global hub in a number of areas, including manufacturing and digital services.
Noting that India is at a crucial juncture in regaining its growth, the Vice President said, “This is the time for all stakeholders to join hands to ensure a sustained economic momentum.”
He said that with India continuing to be among the countries with the fastest-growing economies, the GDP growth rate is projected to be around 9 for FY 2022. He said that the growth was driven by the reforms and well-calibrated measures taken by the government of India. “We can say that the economy has moved into the right trajectory of growth,” he added.
The Vice President said the steep increase in capital expenditure, announced in the recent budget, is expected to attract private investment and generate employment.
Referring to ‘Pradhan Mantri Gati Shakti Plan’, he said the seven engines of growth–Roads, Railways, Airports, Ports, Mass Transport, Waterways and Logistics Infrastructure, seek to develop comprehensive and holistic infrastructure across all sectors in the country.
He said that ‘Pradhan Mantri Gati Shakti Plan’, aims to provide multi-modal connectivity to more than 1,200 industrial clusters, develop two defence corridors, improve electricity transmission networks, increase cargo handling capacity at ports as also railways, set up electronics manufacturing clusters and mega food parks.
“The plan to construct 11 industrial corridors, set up 38 electronics manufacturing clusters and 109 pharmaceutical clusters will be of immense benefit to the MSME sector,” he added.
Stressing on the importance of maintaining transparency and accountability in all sectors, Naidu said, “My appeal to bodies like the CEO clubs is to be at the forefront in promoting corporate ethics and adopting zero tolerance towards corruption.” He stressed that total tax compliance should be the motto of every company.
Citing India’s incessant efforts to promote renewable energies, the Vice President said that India has taken various initiatives, including setting up of the National Solar Mission and playing the leadership role in the International Solar Alliance which is committed to financing solar energy projects around the world. “Renewable energy is an important area for the private sector to chip in and supplement the efforts of the government,” he added.
