Amitabh Kant: Centre did its bit, now states need to buck up

The private sector needs to be the wealth creator for India if the country wants to achieve its $10 trillion economy dream, former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, currently India's G20 sherpa, said on Wednesday. Kant, speaking during the launch of his book, Made In India, added that the government too needs to become a facilitator to achieve the $10 trillion target by 2030.

The book was launched in the presence of Sanjiv Bajaj, President of CII; Naina Lal Kidwai, Chairperson, India Sanitation Coalition; TV Narendran, MD & CEO, Tata Steel; and Mallika Srinivasan, CMD, Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited (TAFE). Made in India focuses on how the private sector should flourish and the government too must pick up pace in many areas.

During a panel discussion following the book launch, Kant stressed on the fact that India needs to to fire on all cylinders, including manufacturing and agriculture, to achieve this target.

He added if states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, and others grow 10 percent for the next two-and-a-half years, then India is bound to grow. He said “the central government has done its bit and it’s time for states to get active ... even if India has 10 state champions, India is bound to grow".

Kant further emphasised that states need to buck up to support India’s growth. “We are accelerating growth now and we will see Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities growing too,” Kant said.

Commenting on the challenges India faces, Kant added, “India needs to industrialise without carbonising.” India is growing at a time when the world has begun to look inward following the coronavirus pandemic, Kant added.

Meanwhile, Bajaj said, “Leveraging the capability of our youth is (our) big strength.” He added that entrepreneurship and research and development (R&D) will burgeon into massive industries and stressed on the importance of upgrading skills in both public and private sectors.

Concurring with Bajaj's point, Narendran it's time India shifted its focus from academics to skilling. “A lot needs to be done on skilling,” Narendran said, adding, "For the last 75 years, India has focussed on education; it now needs to focus on skilling over the next 25 years."

Further, Bajaj said the need of the hour is consistency on the part of the government where regulations are concerned. “If you add risk to business, we tend to become conservative.” He said India's continued growth is a testament to "resilience and quality"

“The quality of growth is unparalleled right now, especially in insurance, MSME (micro, small, and medium enterprise) sectors,” Bajaj added.

Mallika said she strongly believes that R&D and deep tech can make a huge difference for India. Lauding India’s role in manufacturing, she said, “Today, the world’s confidence in India as a manufacturing centre is high.” She said India needs to absorb deep tech in existing businesses as well, and not just startups.

Meanwhile, Kidwai said India Inc's dependence on subsidies needs to come down. In fact, she is in favour of doing away with subsidies entirely. “We don’t need an industry that is incapable of standing on its feet; we need to do away with subsidies in the long run.” She added that this subsidy-dependent approach will come in the way of attracting foreign companies to set up shop in India.