'Public-private partnership in agriculture is a must'

INTERVIEW/ Rakesh Bharti Mittal, Chairman, CII Northern Region

In keeping with the United Progressive Alliance's (UPA) agenda on agriculture and labour issues, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is shifting focus to public-private partnership in agriculture.

And its regional chapters like the CII Northern Region are reaching out to both government and agro-industries to develop the sector. Labour issues and logistics are the other areas the body is working on.

Rakesh Bharti Mittal, chairman of CII Northern Region and vice-chairman and managing director of Bharti Teletech, spoke to Business Standard about the issues in the region and CII Northern Region's agenda.

The UPA has put greater thrust on agriculture and farming. What is the CII Northern Region (NR's) agenda for the sector?

We are meeting the chief ministers of the northern states to push for passing the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act. This will reduce the dependence of farmers on mandis and middlemen.

Contract farming and crop diversification are other issues we are working on. We are putting forth the Pepsi example, where the company went into contracts with farmers in Punjab for growing tomatoes for commercialisation purposes. Contract farming brings in both financial and technical resources.

How do you propose to bring in more investment in the agriculture sector of the region?

The CII will conduct "Agro-Tech expo" in Chandigarh in December to showcase agri-services and capabilities in dairy, food, farm technology, poultry, and livestock. This is expected to generate both interest and investment in the sector.

On infrastructure, what do you suggest to the government?

Even as agricultural credit has been doubled in the Budget, the government has to improve the support system like logistics, cold storage facilities, and cargo handling.

We want to make Chandigarh the logistics hub for the whole region with areas like Dehra Dun, Shimla, and Jammu as facilitators. The CII-NR will organise "Logistics North" in Chandigarh on September 30. Other issues like housing for workers, particularly in areas like Baddi, have to be addressed.

Most companies in the north have to handle labour issues. What are your suggestions on this?

Flexible timing is the prime demand of the employees in the small and medium enterprises (SMEs). So we presented a paper to the chief ministers of most states on this. We also want the government to introduce contract labour with flexibility in hire-and-fire policy.

But will that not be against the interests of the workers?

Contract labour is a successful model in some South Asian countries, and it has also been seen that if companies hire labour on contract for two years, project execution is easier.

Also, many workers who move between states for work are usually contract labourers. We just want to give a legal shape to the scheme that benefits workers.

And on hire-and-fire policy, I feel it will give employees an impetus to work. The companies will not fire employees indiscriminately and will retain the efficient ones.

What is the committee doing for sectors like business process outsourcing (BPO) and information technology?

We have stressed developing other northern cities as BPO hubs. Already, GE is in Jaipur, and we want the government to replicate the model in other cities that can provide infrastructure, like Chandigarh.

We want the government to change college curriculum to impart skills required for call centres. The colleges must have courses on appropriate English accent for students who do not wish to take up conventional studies.

The CII had moved on industrial clusters. How is the northern region carrying it forward?

We are setting up more industrial clusters in Noida and Khurja. Also, there is a cluster in Jaipur that will have a financial services cell to address the loan issues of SMEs.

Besides, the electronic components sector and the steel industry are lagging behind. So, the CII is looking at promoting these sectors by showcasing the opportunities available to these industries.