Fiscal management will drive India’s growth: Uday Kotak

NEW DELHI: India’s performance in terms of absolute GDP, per capita income and current account as well as fiscal management will accentuate it’s growth, Uday Kotak, MD, Kotak Mahindra Bank, said on Thursday.

Speaking at CII’s Global Economic Policy Summit 2022, Kotak said that India is the fifth largest economy in the world and can rise further upwards.

However, it’s growth would depend on economic performance in terms of absolute GDP and absolute per capita income and doing well on current account and fiscal management, he said.

Kotak added for building Indian companies of global standards, the manufacturing scale needs to be enhanced. This, he said, would be possible through cutting-edge innovation rather than being dependent on arbitrage alone.

On interest rates, Kotak said India’s rate trajectory would depend on directions provided by the US Federal Reserve.

Sanjiv Bajaj, president, CII, said the government should be credited for its continuous investment in public infrastructure.

Inflationary pressure on FMCG products is showing signs of cooling off, which may provide relief to consumers, said Sanjiv Puri, CMD, ITC. Speaking at the summit 2022, he said currently inflation is at a “phenomenal” level, therefore in rural areas, the demand for FMCG products is muted.

However, he said rural demand is going to improve as realisations have been better and costs are up and as a net, it is “better off”. On the policy front, Puri said initiatives like PM GatiShakti and growing investment in the infrastructure sector are steps in the right direction.

The ITC chairman also said income levels need to improve and sectors like tourism and agriculture could prove to be economic multipliers.