Offer red carpet welcome to companies from China, Vietnam and Mexico: Amitabh Kant
New Delhi
Mr Amitabh Kant, India’s Sherpa at G20 and former CEO of Niti Ayog advocates removing import duties on inputs for exported items and rationalizing India’s recent quality control orders on imports. He said it while addressing AIMA’s National Leadership Conclave. He was talking about India’s response to the trade disruption caused by Trump tariffs.
Mr Kant said that it is important for India to do a deal with the US as well as the UK and the EU. “It is important for India to offer zero for zero and low for low tariffs,” he said. He argued that with 145% duty on Chinese exports to the US and 49% duty on Vietnamese exports to that market, the world would not manufacture in those countries and India must get them to relocate to India by opening the market for them. “Offer a red carpet welcome to companies from China, Vietnam and Mexico,” he said.
He counted auto, pharma and electronics as the sectors where India needs to become a trusted supplier to the world. He also counted textiles, leather and footwear among sectors where India could gain a lot by getting its policies right.
Mr Kant suggested rationalizing GST also. He pointed out that there were too many GST rates. He also advised rationalizing interest rates, as the statutory liquidity ratio requirement of the banks funds the government but increases the cost of funds for the private sector.
“There are many long-pending critical policy issues and this is an opportunity to push through,” he said.
Mr Kant highlighted the criticality of China to Indian exports. He said that Ireland exports more to China than India and India imports things worth $109 bn from China while exporting only $10 bn worth of goods to that country. “Without penetrating world’s largest markets, Indian economy cannot grow at 8%-9%...No country in the world grows without exports,” he said.
Talking about India’s innovation deficit, Mr Kant said that India must invest in clean tech and deep tech. He regretted that India’s spending on R&D is a meagre 0.6% of its GDP and 70% of that comes from the government. He pointed out that India is dependent on China for its solar and wind power equipment and electric vehicle components.
Mr Kant advocated taking advantage of the US’ restrictive visa regime to keep Indian talent and bring scientists from all over the world to do research and development in India. He said that India needs to consciously support R&D in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and biosimilars. He also advised bringing researchers from the US universities on sabbatical to India to work with Indian startups.
AIMA President, Ms Suneeta Reddy said that India is a great place for research and it has already excelled in process innovation and re-engineered manufacturing. She said that India should create its own AI. Mr Kant said that India must build its sovereign AI models so that it does not forget its own history, civilization and languages. “India has the second mover advantage in AI development,” he said.
AIMA Senior Vice President, Mr TV Narendran said that the disruption caused by Trump tariffs is a great opportunity for India to redefine itself. He said that the earlier global supply chains were built around lowest costs and now those are being rebuilt around risk and resilience. He said that unlike export dependent economies, India has the advantage of having a large enough domestic market to build scale and explore export markets. He said that innovation was low in India as the ‘valley of death’ between the pilot and the market was too big. He said that the industry needs to fund the academia to bridge the concept and commerce.
The session was livestreamed on AIMA’s social media channels.
No dearth of money, aim to make 100km roads a day: Nitin Gadkari
AIMA excellence awards presented to AM Naik, Sanjiv Puri and Sunita Narain
New Delhi
Mr Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport & Highways, plans to construct 25,000 kms of 2-4 lane highways at a rate of 100 kms a day. Addressing AIMA’s National Leadership Conclave, he said that there is no dearth of money to build roads and soon India will make better highways than the US.
The Minister said that a transformation of the road sector would transform the lot of India’s farmers by reallocating the money spent on petroleum imports to agri-derived fuel and construction materials. He pointed out that making ethanol from corn has lifted corn prices well above the minimum support price. He said that in the making of ethanol from rice straw, the by-product liganent is being used in road construction. He said that agri-bitumen has proved to be better than petro bitumen in road construction.
Replying to a question about urban traffic congestion and slow travel, the minister said that the cities’ problems are linked with rural problems. He said that India needs to think not only of making smart cities but smart villages also so that villagers do not have to migrate to cities. “If agriculture’s share of the GDP reaches 22%, there would be no migration,” he said.
Admitting that building flyovers in cities has not solved the traffic problems, the minister said that India has to address its population and automobile growth problems. He said that people migrate to cities because they lack jobs, schools, and hospitals, and he asserted that road construction in rural India will help dispersion of population. He emphasized that India needs new satellite cities with rapid transport. He also pointed to the practice of rich people building big houses without parking and using the roads as free parking.
Mr Gadkari mentioned that India is looking to acquire the technology of flash-charging electric buses for urban transportation. He said that these 135-seat buses go 40km on less than a minute’s charge.
The Minister presented the AIMA awards on the occasion. The AIMA Lifetime Achievement Award for Management was conferred on Mr A M Naik, Chairman Emeritus, Larsen & Toubro Ltd. His award was received by his daughter-in-law Rucha Nanavati. AIMA - JRD Tata Corporate Leadership Award was presented to Mr Sanjiv Puri, Chairman & Managing Director, ITC Limited. AIMA Public Service Excellence Award was presented to Ms Sunita Narain, Director General, Centre for Science and Environment.
Mr Sunil Kant Munjal, conclave chairman and Chairman, Hero Enterprise engaged the minister in a conversation.
AIMA President, Ms Suneeta Reddy delivered the welcome address and AIMA Senior Vice President and CEO & Managing Director, Tata Steel Ltd, Mr T V Narendran offered the concluding remarks.
Mr Vishesh C Chandiok, Chief Executive Officer, Grant Thornton Bharat LLP introduced the awards.
The session was also livestreamed on AIMA’s social media channels.
All trade routes will go through India in a decade: Scindia
AIMA-KPMG report on India’s management capability released
New Delhi
Mr Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Minister of Communications; Development of Northeastern Region says that it is not only India’s narrative that is changing but also its map. Addressing AIMA’s National Leadership Conclave he said that India would the centrepoint for connectivity and in the next decade all trading routes will go through India.
The Minister said that India’s northeast used to be the only connection to the world for southeast Asia and it must become an economic and trade hub. He said that India’s historic relations with southeast Asia were not only economic but also spiritual and India must build its economic power on that soft power. He mentioned that the government is thinking of building an India-Myanmar-Thailand highway and it is already building a highway to Chittagong. He pointed out that all states of the northeast are getting railway connectivity and now the region has 17 airports. He also pointed out that Tata Group is building one of India’s first semiconductor fabrication facility in the northeast.
Speaking on the subject of an audacious India set on becoming the paramount power in Asia, Mr Scindia said, “India’s rise today is real, rapid and resolute.” He declared that this is not only India’s decade but India’s century. He said that India’s rise is based on the fundamentals of economic growth and structural change. He pointed out that the US became an economic superpower by growing at 3-%4% for a century and India’s growth rate during the past decade has been about 8%. He highlighted that India’s public spending has shifted to investment on creating future revenue streams, with every rupee invested generating multiple returns. “Today, India is a country that is confident, connected, courageous,” he said.
The Minister pointed out that India has had the fastest 5G rollout in the world with 86% population covered and its UPI model is being sought by developed countries. He said that India has become a rare country to develop its own 4G technology. He pointed out that BSNL has become profitable after nearly two decades and Indian Post is being turned into a rural fintech engine and an e-commerce distribution network.
“All this will result in India’s recognition not just as a regional player but a global one - a driver of global economic growth, a source of global stability, a torchbearer of innovation, and one to show path to the world,” Scindia said.
Mr Scindia presented AIMA Managing India Business Leader of the Year
Presented to Mr Vellayan Subbiah, Chairman, Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Co Ltd. He also presented AIMA - Dr. J S Juneja Award for Creativity and Innovation in Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises to NeuroEquilibrium Diagnostic Systems Pvt Ltd and AIMA - Dr Ram Tarneja Award for Best Article in Indian Management to Prof Rashmi Bhatia, Prof Arun Bhatia, and Prof Daviender Narang.
Receiving his award, Mr Subbiah said that to become a superpower India needs to learn from China, especially in the area of coordinated action by the government and the private sector. He also pointed out that IP being developed in India by Indian talent is owned by foreign companies and India then has to buy the final product at a high markup. He stressed the need to own IP and also to market India’s IP in yoga and spirituality.
The Minister presented AIMA Honorary Life Fellowship to Mr Shrinivas V Dempo, Past President, AIMA and Chairman, Dempo Group, and AIMA Fellowship to Mr Kamal Bali, President & Managing Director, Volvo Group, India.
Mr Scindia also released AIMA-KPMG Management Capability Development Index India 2024. Mr Yezdi Nagporewalla, Chief Executive Officer, KPMG in India introduced the report. The report pointed out that Indian management needs to strengthen innovation, people management and external relationship capabilities.
AIMA President, Ms Suneeta Reddy said that the tectonic shifts in the world are an opportunity for India to be audacious in its thinking. She referred to India’s challenges in the northeast and said that India needs to build the region into a global trading hub.
Conclave chairman, Mr Sunil Kant Munjal highlighted that amid a turbulent world, everybody is cheering India. “We are a non-threatening growing country,” he said. However, he stressed that while the middle class has tasted success and wants more, India will not become a superpower unless all of India develops.
The session was livestreamed on AIMA’s social media channels.
Population cannot be the only criterion for representation: Sachin Pilot
New Delhi
Indian National Congress leader and former minister, Mr Sachin Pilot says that the southern states would have a valid grievance if the coming delimitation of seats in the Parliament and state assemblies was to be done on the basis of population growth alone. Speaking at AIMA’s National Leadership Conclave, he said that delimitation cannot penalize population check and economic growth. However, he argued that the entire country has to be a priority and not just the performing states. “The lagging states need more support. They are Indians too,” he said.
Moderating the session, Mr Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Founder, Info Edge India Ltd said that India’s south looks like a different country in terms of industry and per capita income.
Talking about regional imbalance in India, Mr Pilot conceded that imbalances are inevitable as the coastal regions have the natural advantage of having ports for international trade. He pointed out that 80% of global trade is maritime trade. However, he said that the landlocked upper states of India must find alternative ways to grow their economies and they can develop dry ports, SEZs, induce investment by lowering taxes and helping businesses. He pointed out that the inland states in the US and China have developed using state policy. The key, according to him, is the motivation and commitment of the state governments in upper India. Economic development is difficult if the only political agenda is to get elected again, he said.
Talking about the impact of Trump administration’s tariffs on India, Mr Pilot said that India is yet to demonstrate any substantial response to the tariffs and the wait-and-watch approach would have consequences for Indian economy. He said that India failed to take advantage of shift of suppliers from China during covid pandemic and most of the manufacturing migrated to Vietnam, and now India must not miss another opportunity. “Indian government has to make the right noises and move with friendly countries,” he said. The government needs to take inputs from the opposition and build a consensus on India’s response to US tariffs, Mr Pilot said. He regretted that the government has shut out the opposition’s voice both in the Parliament and outside.
Commenting on the lower rate of tariffs on Indian exports to the US compared with China and Vietnam, Mr Pilot said that the tariff hikes are linked to US’ trade deficit with different countries and India has not got a gift.
On India’s GDP growth rate, Mr Pilot said that with its strong fundamentals, India should aim for 9%-10% growth and not be satisfied with a 6% growth just because others are not doing as well. He stressed that the growth should not only benefit the engineers but also those moving from farms to factories.
Responding to a question on the decline of Punjab and Haryana as agrarian economies, Mr Pilot said that the times have changed and the agriculture dependent states have to shift from grains to cash crops for the domestic and the exports markets. However, he considered full privatization of agriculture a disaster for India’s rural ecosystem and favoured helping the farmers shift to modern agriculture practices and markets.
The session was livestreamed on AIMA’s social media channels.
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