India is expecting a GDP growth of 6% plus this year. While certain segments of the economy have done well, the mass consumption segments are yet to pick up. We can truly realise the immense potential of our economy when the majority of our people are earning well and driving consumption across categories, leading to a virtuous cycle of growth.”
The Gati Shakti and Smart Cities Missions gave a huge impetus to the infrastructure and real estate sectors. About 200 industries, from manufacturing of capital goods and construction materials to services, are supported by these sectors and the incentives will benefit all supporting industries. The government also needs to rationalise GST rates for major construction materials such as cement and recycled construction materials from construction & demolition waste to promote a circular economy. We also expect this year’s union budget to initiate reforms for the promotion of innovative technologies such as 3D printing that contribute towards lower carbon emissions and contribute in the war against global warming
The Government made a strong thrust towards investments in infrastructure for the current year through its Gati Shakti programme. It focussed on logistics in order to improve our competitiveness in the global markets. Another objective was to generate employment and attract supporting investments by the private sector. This has resulted in a growth for the capital goods sector while creating the base for a stronger economy going forward.
The push for EV is generating investments in the sector with a number of new entrants to serve the market. It will greatly reduce our dependence on oil imports while delivering against our commitments towards reducing global warming and creating a sustainable economy. However, the success of this will depend upon the creation of an enabling environment through the development of a vehicle charging infrastructure as well as cheap and reliable supply of electricity. Today a large part of the progress in EVs has been on personal mobility with 2 and 4 wheelers. This has to be commercially extended to the transport sector.
The Green Hydrogen Mission will also help us in this journey by creating energy sources which are not dependent on fossil fuels. However, the challenge before us will be to develop the technologies for producing green hydrogen in an economically viable manner. Already, several large business groups have announced their foray into this sector, giving us some confidence that solutions will be generated for this.
The government has initiated PLI schemes for the Air Conditioner and Electronics sectors to promote local manufacturing of consumer durables. This has led to investments in design and manufacturing by the OEMs as well as component manufacturers. We welcome more of such supporting measures for other categories of durables including white goods, furniture and other products. It will foster the development of the eco-system for component manufacturers in the industry. Additional measures to support exports of durables through Trade Pacts with nations in Asia and Africa will provide a further boost to the sector. Further measures to boost consumption in the economy will have a tremendous cascading effect in propelling all round growth.
