India Inc warns of unrest if revival is delayed
Says impact of Covid on livelihood severe; health could well be the next IT
Industry has cautioned the government that economic recovery needs to return quickly or else social issues will arise following the severe impact of Covid-19 on the livelihood of the poor. Sanjiv Puri, chairman and managing director, ITC, said the crisis had been unprecedented. He said the ILO had said that four of the world’s five workers would stand in immediate danger of having their livelihood destroyed.ajay Piramal, chairman of Piramal Group expressed the fear that if growth was not brought back urgently, social issues might come up.
Industry has cautioned the government that economic recovery needs to be quick, else social issues would arise following the severe impact of Covid-19 on the livelihood of the poor.
Sanjiv Puri, chairman and managing director, ITC, said the crisis had been unprecedented and of epic proportions. He said the economic fallout had been very severe as the International Labour Organization (ILO) had estimated that four of the world’s five workers would stand in immediate danger of having their livelihood destroyed.
“We have to realign ourselves to the new normal. The faster we adopt to this new normal, the better it will be. The longer we take to revive, the greater will be the stress,” he said.
He highlighted that there was need for enormous compassion and empathy in dealing with the millions who had lost their livelihood. As the theme of the Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII’S) 125th Annual Session is to get growth back, the CEOS emphasised the need to bridge the gap between policy articulation and implementation.
“We need to move faster on implementation by strengthening institutions, investing i n brand building, and addressing growth,” said Ajay Piramal, chairman of Piramal Group.
Piramal expressed the fear that if growth was not brought back urgently, social issues might come up.
The captains of Indian industry said since the current crisis had emanated out of the health crisis, India had an opportunity to boost the health sector.
“The health sector has the potential to become what India has shown to the world in the field of IT,” said Kiran Majumdar-shaw, chairman and managing director, Biocon Ltd.
Uday Kotak, managing director and chief executive officer of Kotak Mahindra Bank, said: “Unlike the 2008 financial crisis, the ongoing one has originated from health-related issues that turned into a financial crisis. Thus, the ultimate solution to this has to come from solutions i n the health care system.”
The biggest hindrance today any business or societal activity faces is scanning the health of the people involved in it, he said. “If we can find an easy solution to test and ensure a person is not infected by coronavirus and is fit for work then employing them in daily activities becomes easier,” said Kotak, who is incoming president of the CII.
Kotak said: “The Covid-19 outbreak and resulting lockdown have impacted adversely the real economy, businesses, individuals, the government, and the financial sector.”
He said while the government was facing the risks of a higher fiscal deficit, the banking sector urgently needed recapitalisation of ~3-4 trillion to meet lending requirements.
India Inc. said the manufacturing sector was still facing a lot of challenges on several fronts, particularly due to bottlenecks in infrastructure, be it power or road.
“To revive manufacturing in India, we need to put in place more enablers as only quality infrastructure can help create world- class manufacturing ,” said Rajnish Kumar, chairman, State Bank of India.
He also underlined the importance of investing more in agriculture as capital expenditure in this sector was stagnant. In services, there is a need to focus upon construction, which is highest employer after agriculture in India.