India Inc on Sunday acknowledged that economic reforms were lagging and growth had slowed but said solutions to the situation should be found within and not as prescribed by outsiders.
Reacting to US President Barack Obama’s assertion that the government must carry out “difficult” economic refo-rms, India Inc said the country remained a strong investment destination, with strong long-term growth prospects.
In an interview to PTI in Washington, Obama said American firms say “it is still too hard to invest in India. In too many sectors, such as retail, India limits or prohibits the foreign investment that is necessary to create jobs in both our countries, and which is necessary for India to continue to grow”.
Obama said: “There appears to be a growing consensus in India that the time may be right for another wave of economic reforms to make India more competitive in the global economy.”
Acknowledging that the nation lagged in reforms in sectors like retail, aviation, defence and insurance, India Inc said Obama or any other person could not be “dictating Indian government or Indian policy makers”.
“Our government will decide according to to India’s own compulsions and requirements,” Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said.
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CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said: “India was resilient and still grew at six per cent during the time of global economic uncertainties.”He added: “However, there are some issues that need to be addressed.” “We still need reforms in sectors like retail, aviation, defence and insurance. Our understanding is that we should be seeing reforms over a period of time,” he said.
FICCI Secretary General Rajiv Kumar said India’s long-term growth remained strong and intact. “There is a number of positive structural features that will ensure India continues to attract investments and maintain the rate of GDP growth,” he said. “However, it is evident that some significant reform measures have to be taken urgently. We are convinced investor sentiment will become positive if these measures are implemented,” Kumar said.