India Inc to meet FM with growth blueprint

MUMBAI: Top Indian industrialists would be meeting finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on June 1 in New Delhi for pre-budget discussions. Industry wants the government to achieve a 10% economic growth for the next 10 years in order to make India the next economic superpower.

The meeting will be attended by Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata, Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, ADAG Group chairman Anil Ambani, Videocon chief Venugopal Dhoot, Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, JSW Steel vice-chairman Sajjan Jindal, Assocham president Harshpati Singhania and Bharti Group chairman Sunil Mittal, among others.

Speaking to ET, Venugopal Dhoot said the government should take a long-term view of the economy by preparing what he termed a ���master plan���, so that the country can achieve a 10% growth. ���This is the time for India to create history. As rest of the world is still grappling with recession, India is still growing at 6% rate. The government should take a long-term view of the economy by giving incentives for units employing more workers,��� said Mr Dhoot.
Mr Dhoot said infrastructure spending is the need of the hour and India Inc is ready to take up projects which would help in nation building.

JSW Steel vice-chairman Sajjan Jindal said the immediate priority of the government should be to stimulate the Indian economy, which is showing signs of a slowdown. ���The government should give a push to the small-and medium-sized enterprises, as they employ a lot of people. Helping the export growth is also the need of the hour,��� he said.

To achieve this Mr Jindal said the government must reduce the high interest rates, which are currently discouraging investments in the country. ���Although, interest rates have come down, it is still not at a very comfortable level. We will ask him for an action plan to bring down the interest rates further.���

Mahindra & Mahindra executive director Arun Nanda wants the government to invest in building social infrastructure such as school and hospitals.