ET Awards 2012: PM Manmohan Singh promises more reforms in coming weeks

MUMBAI: Delivering his key note address at the ET Awards for Corporate Excellence 2012 function, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said that the annual event provides a 'valuable opportunity' to recognise some dynamic and creative entrepreneurs.

Talking about the slowdown that has gripped the economy in recent times, Singh said that India has been affected by global developments. However he also acknowledged that the slowdown had happened due to domestic constraints as well.

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Stating that all economies go through ups and downs, Singh said that the growth rate for the current fiscal year was likely to be at around 6%. To combat the economic problems, the government has taken several steps in the recent weeks, he said. "Some of our steps were considered as politically impossible. We bit the bullet," Singh added.

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"Certain steps in the Budget had led to negative reactions," Singh said. PM talked about the roadmap announced by Finance Minister P Chidambaram to reduce fiscal deficit to 3% by 2016-17. According to Singh, it is difficult to reduce deficit in the short run because exports may not grow rapidly. For capital markets, SEBI has been working to improve procedures and policies to reduce transaction costs, he said.

The UID programme is going to be the basis for the biggest transformation in which transactions are conducted, he said.

On the topic of infrastructure sector, PM said that about 50% of the investment has to come from the private sector. He acknowledged that a large number of infrastructure projects are stuck because of delay in granting clearances. "Low hanging fruits have been plucked in the roads sector," he said.

Fuel supply was cited as a problem area in the power sector by the PM. "We are promoting pooling of imported coal," he said.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a major reform in the pipeline and I hope the opposition sees its importance. Speaking about the various legislations slated to come up in the Winter session of the Parliament, PM hoped for cooperation from opposition.

Earlier in the evening, the Prime Minister had presented awards to the winners of this year's ET Awards for Corporate Excellence. PM along with many Cabinet ministers, business leaders, bankers and economists attended the awards ceremony. The theme for this year's function was 'Agenda for Reforms' and a panel discussion took place between eminent ministers and corporate leaders on the same.