India Inc today expressed concern over the Congress party's promise to extend job reservation in the private sector and said the move would impede industry's competitiveness and it would want to discuss the matter.
"We will discuss with the Congress party because we believe that at this point, reservation in the private sector will impede the competitiveness of our industry," CII President Kris Gopalakrishnan told reporters here.
Hero MotoCorp Joint MD Sunil Kant Munjal said Indian industry has played an active role in affirmative action.
"What industry has objected to is reservation in private sector. There are areas of improvement in training and education, which industry has done," Munjal said.
However, Assocham said: "We on voluntary basis supported affirmative action in private sector and initiate lots of steps to improve employability."
Describing the manifesto as a "forward looking document," PHDCCI President Sharad Jaipuria said the Congress will have to recommit itself to economic expansion and inclusive growth so that the benefits of governance percolate to the aam aadmi in an equitable and fair manner.
CII also said initiatives promised by the party with regard to health, pension and housing will go a long way to support inclusive growth.
It said for industry, the manifesto has committed to introduce the Goods and Services Tax and the Direct Tax Code bills in Parliament and ensure they are enacted within a year.
Ficci said the manifesto provides an aspirational vision on many key concerns facing the economic life of the nation and the people.
"Inclusive growth is an imperative. However, the wide variety of rights must be only based on sound economic health of the country," Ficci President Sidharth Birla added.
The Congress promised to push GDP growth to 8 per cent in three years, create 10 crore jobs and contain inflation.
In its manifesto released by Congress President Sonia Gandhi today, the party pledged to encourage foreign direct investment. The elections are scheduled to start on April 7.
It said the Congress is committed to creating a national consensus on affirmative action for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for jobs in the private sector.
The 15-point agenda for socio-economic and political transformation includes promoting flexible labour laws, recovering black money and increasing health expenditure to 3 per cent of GDP.
Economic growth, which exceeded 9 per cent before the 2008 global financial crisis, slipped to a decade's low of 4.5 per cent in 2012-13 and is estimated at 4.9 per cent in the current financial year.
