CII working on plan to revive investment, create jobs

NEW DELHI: Eyeing 8% GDP growth in the country this year and 10% in the next three years, the Confederation of Indian Industry ( CII) is putting in place a plan to revive domestic investment and create jobs.

“One of the key priorities for CII this year would be to help revive domestic investment, which has been flagging, and the economy has been growing largely on the back of exceptionally high government spending on infrastructure,” said Shobana Kamineni, who took over as CII president on Wednesday.

Lauding the Narendra Modi government’s reform agenda, which includes the passage of goods and services tax (GST), insolvency and bankruptcy norms, liberalisation of foreign direct investment norms and promotion of ease of doing business, Kamineni exuded confidence in the economy and said that “conditions are positive for an economic recovery in the current year, with GDP growth expected to be 7.5-8%”. “Industry is completely ready for the introduction of the landmark tax reform from July 1. CII has been calling for a single national tax for the last ten years and we will try to make its implementation as smooth as possible,” Kamineni said.

The new CII president said it is possible to target 1% additional growth each year to reach 10% in the next three years with the implementation of GST; greater participation of women in labour force; urbanisation process, and government spending of up to Rs 30 lakh crore in various infrastructure projects.