With an ominous reminder that the youth would hold India Inc accountable and put them through the grinder if it misses the opportunities hidden in today’s crises, the finance minister said, “They will ask, ‘What are you all doing?’”
“Startups have proven to us in the last five years how they can progress against all odds… If they are able to do that, shouldn’t all of us try and make India grow faster… Are you living in today, or in the 60s-70s?” Sitharaman asked the audience during a fireside chat with ET’s Sruthijith KK.
Nudging corporate chieftains to speak their minds on any hesitancy in committing capital, a bemused Sitharaman said, “I’d certainly like them to talk about things, about investment. After all, if they don’t speak out, how is the government to have any clue on how things are moving?”Her colleague Ashwini Vaishnaw, who received the ET Award for Business Reformer of the Year, reached out with similar, sincere candour. “Can I make a request? All of you have done fabulously well in your lives, in your businesses. Can we actually identify some products and start investing in them? ” he said.
Focus on What’s Good for India
“For example, something as basic as the capital goods which are going into the manufacturing of some of the basic consumer goods,” said the minister for railways, IT, and information and broadcasting. “Let’s say, in the tech industry, can the IT industry invest in three foundational models? Can the IT industry invest in creating our own mobile phone operating system? If you take one step forward, the government is there to take 10 steps with you.”
Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, who was honoured as Business Leader of the Year, echoed the sentiment. In his acceptance speech, Birla said, “The way forward lies in investing and not waiting it out.”
The two senior ministers were, however, unequivocal that the need of the hour is pragmatism, bilateralism and correcting past mistakes with a singular focus on ‘what’s good for India,’ instead of harking back to theories and ideologies.
“The commerce ministry is reviewing many free trade agreements… Either the negotiations were very speedily handled, or the language of the document was very loose… There is a flood of goods coming in which you are not able to regulate… Duties don’t make a difference to them,” said Sitharaman.
Buttressing her point, she added, “Unless you negotiate for India’s own good, your negotiation will not be taken seriously even by the opposite side.”
A tightrope walk and tact would also come into play in addressing the menace of dumping. According to Sitharaman, while small and medium-sized manufacturers have to be given access to cheaper inputs, the nation cannot become a victim of dumping. “Some prefer complete stoppage of dumped goods and some prefer a calibrated approach. The task is to balance everybody’s interests,” she said.
But the responsibility doesn’t rest with the government alone, and the ET Awards winners are collective testimony to the fact that India Inc can lead from the front, said Romal Shetty, chief executive of Deloitte South Asia, sponsor of the event.
“Mahindra & Mahindra is redefining defence tech with AI (artificial intelligence)-driven autonomous systems. TVS Motor has launched the world’s first CNG scooter, transforming urban mobility. The (Aditya) Birla Group is leading sustainability with seawater scrubbing technology. Lenskart is merging AI and AR (augmented reality) for personalised eyewear, and Zomato is evolving beyond food into a full-scale tech platform,” said Shetty, underscoring his point.
