The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India President, Anil K. Agarwal, have suggested multiple strategies to Finance Minister P. Chidambaram to spur manufacturing growth in the region.
Agarwal urged the Finance Minister to immediately take steps to remove bottlenecks that impede growth in areas of infrastructure, availability of funds for investment, employment and labor laws and high transaction costs. At a meeting with Chidambaram this week to discuss manufacturing, Agarwal said “we are short of critical infrastructure that is so vital for manufacturing. Most important are power, communication and transportation. The short supply of reliable and cost competitive power, price spikes and blackouts disrupt our manufacturing and esspecially discourage investments in industries such as steel, chemicals, paper and plastics.”The Chamber is lobbying for changes to the current labor laws, which they feel discourage productivity and employment opportunities for Indian manufacturers.
The Chamber is emphasizing the need to cut distribution losses and power theft by strengthening the current laws and enforcement. It also suggested that unlimited free electricity should be reduced by offering pre-paid meters.
