Confederation of Indian Industry: TV Narendran, President of the Confederation of India Industry (CII), said that instead of introducing new measures every year, the central government should focus on investment and infrastructure in the next budget.
Addressing CNBC-TV18, Narendran said that with each wave of the pandemic, the government and industry have become more able to overcome the difficulties. He said that the government should encourage employment and emphasize on increasing consumption.
Staying focused on infra and investment
He said, “I think it will be a great progress if we implement what we said in the previous years. If I have to take my recommendations forward – first the government has to maintain focus on infrastructure and investment as it helps in creating demand, creating jobs and increasing competition.”
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support to MNREGA
He said that MGNREGA support should continue, adding that there has been a large number of job losses in the hospitality, travel and tourism sectors. He said that the government should see how it can help Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
Hospitality, travel, tourism should be given attention
He said, “Secondly, MGNREGA has been very successful in ensuring that there is minimum impact on the people at the grassroots level. We also want to look at sectors like hospitality, travel and tourism, restaurants etc., which were most affected post-Covid. So what can we do to bring these sectors back on track? “Some MSMEs performed well, but some have suffered,” he said.
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increased spending on healthcare
According to Narendran, he has also emphasized on paying more attention to the development or improvement of health infrastructure, as the out-of-pocket expenditure for medical treatment is still high. He said, “People have lost jobs. Therefore income has decreased and on the other hand health related expenditure has increased. The government should continue to invest in health infrastructure, which is 1.3 per cent of GDP today, but we need to take it to 3 per cent to reduce out-of-pocket expenditure on healthcare.”
Government should focus on employment
He suggested to bring a scheme on the lines of Urban Employment Scheme. He said, “The job loss has hit the lower strata the most. If we can support them, start their income, then it will improve consumption.”
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