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First up, how would you rate the Budget if I ask you to rate it from 1 to 10, would it be as high as even 8 or 9 and what were your key takeaways and findings from the Budget?
Sanjiv Puri: I think it is a Budget that reflects continuity of vision and strategy. It continues on the path and the policies that have been articulated in the past. It is all about growth, competitiveness. It is about green growth. It is also about inclusive growth. So, all in all I would say a Budget that ticks all the boxes.
I would like your opinion on one part of the economy which you understand very well and that is the consumer part, both urban as well as the tier II, tier III, the rural part of the consumer which in the past few quarters I would say were a bit under pressure because of inflation issues, now they are petering out. But how would you analyse the steps the government has taken to leave more money in the hands, also to ensure that more money is actually pumped via various schemes towards that section and especially the rural side?
Sanjiv Puri: You rightly alluded to the challenge of the past which was inflation and I think the worst is behind us. Very clearly, the policy that this government has been following is one of strengthening the competitive capacity of the economy so that everybody can actualise its potential and that is the premise on which all the policies and all the directions in the prior budgets have been set and we can see the benefits of that in a situation where the world is facing growth challenges, the world is growing at the lowest ever levels for a long time while India is growing at 7%. So that is really the proof of the pudding. That strategy has worked and this reflects a continuity.
The essence is like this that as productive capacity is created, the quality of earnings will go up and that will bring more money into the hands of people, if you look at rural for example, in the past there has been focus on technology infusion into rural, there has been focus on FPO formation or cooperative formation as a tool for aggregation and then this time there are specific thrusts in identified areas which is a great strategy of focus. Be it the oilseeds, dairy or the aqua sector, I think all the steps there are directed towards strengthening competitiveness and as productivity, quality improves, incomes will improve.
The enhancement of public expenditure right now to a very large figure of Rs 11 lakh crore. It was Rs 10 lakh last year. That also on one hand strengthens the competitiveness of the nation, reduces the cost of doing business; on the other hand it is also creating employment and contributing to the virtuous cycle. If you look at the PM Awas Yojana and so many other initiatives that have been taken, these are going to create productive capacity, create employment and in turn contribute to creating a virtuous cycle. So, over a period of time, consumption is bound to pick up, consumption does follow economic progress.
Finance minister talked about the foundation that is being laid for Amrit Kaal and the vision that the government has of making India a developed economy or Viksit Bharat by 2047. A lot of people are now talking about not just the $5-trillion economy but a $7-trillion one as well. What is your take in terms of how India is placed right now?
Sanjiv Puri: I think India is placed in a very good position. On account of I think astute management of policies in India, the fiscal, the monetary and the reform that has been happened, that has happened over a period of time, over several years on account of the physical and digital infrastructure that has been created amongst others, so what this has done is really unlocked a lot of potential that India has got and that is why the economy is doing well and because of the strengths of India, the demographic dividend, the scale India can offer and also the global developments on the geopolitical dynamic that kind of place India in a very good position. The whole world is looking at India as a base for manufacturing and services not merely for the large growing domestic market but also as an export hub. So, India is well placed and in this budget also we are seeing the foundation of Viksit Bharat, the foundation of a strong India, an India that is competitive even getting even more strengthened with various measures that have been taken and I will just like to exemplify, let me call out two points specifically, a lot of the next generation reforms are going to involve the state and in fact some of the reforms that have happened so far also need to be executed at the last mile, so there has been a very innovative idea to incentivise reforms at the states, I think that is an excellent idea. The second is that India does need to increase its share of R&D spends, India does need to develop its own IP and it is in the strength of IP and technology which are the human capacity is a positive for India and we can develop IP and technologies for the future, so the R&D fund I think is a very progressive step and let me end by also saying that despite the fact that investments are continuing in the economy, investments are getting strengthened in the economy, I think it is good to see that the fiscal glide path is not only being adhered to from a CII’s estimate perspective, I think it is a little bit in fact ahead of that, so all in all a very-very encouraging and extremely visionary budget.
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