As the Modi Government completes one year in office, India Inc expects major initiatives in the next two quarters along with forward movement in key sectors like road, power, coal, non-renewable energy, mainly led by public sector investment, industry body Assocham said on Sunday.
Some major measures are also expected in the agriculture sector which needs huge public investment in areas like irrigation, rural infrastructure and power supply. Besides, the Government is likely to continue with support in inputs such as fertilisers, the survey said.
“Having taken several initiatives to unclog infrastructure projects and improve ease of doing business, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Government is expected to give increased attention to the rural economy, although several of the financial inclusion programmes like the Jan Dhan Yojana would help the countryside,” Assocham President Rana Kapoor said.
He pointed out that there are select sectors of the economy which are under stress, including housing, real estate, banking and telecom. Of late, the merchandise exports are also causing some anxiety with slowdown in global demand.
“But some of the innovative initiatives like monetisation of gold would bring in much-needed stability in the country’s balance of payment by way of reduction in gold imports. “Besides, there are hopes that the GST Bill would finally move towards a law,” Kapoor said.
He also welcomed the formation of an expert committee on resolving taxation issues like Minimum Alternate Tax for the foreign institutional investors.