Govt needs to clear doubts on Food Security Bill: CII president

Says the Bill raised concern of widening fiscal deficit, which would in turn have a negative impact on economic growth of the country

The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government's 'game changer' Food Security Bill is "correct" in "principle and concept", but the government need to address few concerns, said S Gopalakrishnan, president of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and also vice-chairman of Infosys Ltd.

"A nation taking care of its citizens to ensure that no one remains hungry is in principle and concept correct. But the government need to make sure that the implementation of this mega programme does not create challenges in future," said Gopalakrishnan to Business Standard here today. He was in the city to constitute a joint task force by CII in association with the Assam government to work on a "5 point agenda" for development of the region.

The Food Security Bill, said Gopalakrishnan, raised concern of widening fiscal deficit, which would in turn have a negative impact on the economic growth of the country. "The government need to clear the doubt as how would it manage the fiscal deficit," he added.

The Food Security Ordinance need to be ratified by the Parliament in the upcoming monsoon session for it to become an Act.

On volatility of rupee against dollar, Gopalakrishnan said the industry expected "the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to play a role in promoting growth of the industry,"

"The RBI has a role to play in promoting growth. It should actively act in containing the volatility of rupee," he said. "We are presently experiencing the lowest growth in a decade. Reforms like Goods and Services Tax (GST) will help boost the GDP by at least 1 to 1.5 per cent. Reforms need to be continued to achieve the high aspirational growth rate of India," said Gopalakrishnan.