infraLOG Magazine Jan-Feb 2015

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Dadoo underlined that the Ministry's set target to achieve the increase of 10-15 per cent export stands firmly, especially for 2015-16 and beyond thanks to the positive initiative from the government, recovery in the US and some other emerging markets and a confident export community. Though export performance in last two years (financial year) was sluggish because of the international market scenario, 2014-15 would see a double digit growth.

Cover Story

Impact of

Make in India call: Hope floats for 2015 and beyond “The major enablers would be road infrastructure, availability of power, land acquisition, reduced logistics and transaction costs, fast clearance of cargo to achieve our export target and at least 6.4 per cent GDP growth as forecasted by the World Bank,”………. JK Dadoo, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce.

With manufacturing identified as the focus area by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the "Make in India" initiative, industry professionals and experts believe this will help the country achieve double-digit growth in manufacturing and much-needed jobs for its growing labour force. There are signs of turnaround also, with the OECD recently predicting a growth of more than 6 per cent for the economy in the next two years. Experts say, the country needs the competitiveness of industry to be at the core of policy so that the mnufacturers can supply to the domestic market and export to the world and be an integral part of the global value chain.

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JK Dadoo, JS, Ministry of Commerce

Ratan Kr Paul The business prospect in 2015 is expected to be very encouraging. With clear and loud message to the world to 'Make in India' from the Prime Minister of India, facilitation of trade and commerce, changes at the policy level coupled with a sharp focus on infrastructure development , manufacturing and investment for the same; service sector like logistics industry in India is expecting a boost in the months to come. infraLOG spoke to policy makers as well as a few industry majors to know the future prospects. It is now evident that the 'Make in India' ball is rolling and got the desired momentum within a short span of time it was aired by Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India. “See the enthusiasm about the call of 'Make in India' in India and abroad, thanks to the consistent efforts by the Prime Minister and all other ministries, through various summits, conclaves, events and workshops attended by international and Indian entrepreneurs and government officials/policy makers at the Centre and State Government. I am highly optimistic that the impact of the Make in India initiatives would soon yield results in the domestic and export markets,” said JK Dadoo, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, in an exclusive interview with infraLOG.

Dadoo, however, expressed that the performance related to trade and commerce is depending on the enabling environment. “The major enablers would be road infrastructure, availability of power, land acquisition, reduced logistics and transaction costs, fast clearance of cargo to achieve our export target and at least 6.4 per cent GDP growth as recently forecasted by the World Bank,” highlighted Dadoo. He urged for creation of new investment friendly atmosphere and new infrastructure facilities for them. He also urged for a strong inter-ministerial coordination for the growth of exports from India. “We are constantly taking strong and required initiatives in association with allied ministries to facilitate exports. Jointly we have taken lot of new initiatives to iron out bottlenecks before the export community. We are also taking lead role to enhance the skill and scale of the exporters,” Dadoo added. The Joint Secretary expressed his concerns on the fluctuation of oil price and currency rate that need serious attention.

Concor to register 11% growth in '1415; expects to retain '15-16 Container Corporation of India is quite confident of achieving a growth of around 11 per cent in its volumes in 2014-15 vis-àvis 2013-14. According to Anil Gupta, CMD, Concor, there are encouraging trends in the market for this year also. “On the basis of discussions with various stakeholders and our own analysis, the volume of business is expected to continue to grow in the year 2015 also. Containerization in India will continue to grow till it reaches International standards,” he said. However, the major challenge for container traffic remains to be the imbalance between Imports & Exports that results in unnecessary running of empty flat wagons resulting in increased costs. Commenting on the initiatives from the present government to make changes at the policy level— to boost up the manufacturing, export, investment in infrastructure, fast clearance of cargo, hinterland connectivity, e-governance, easy tax structure, land acquisition, industryfriendly labour laws, etc, Gupta expressed high optimism about the growth of the industry. “We have seen several positive initiatives at the policy level like speedier environmental clearance, changes in Land Acquisition Policy for infrastructure projects, emphasis on creating infrastructure, hinterland connectivity and likely implementation of GST in the near future. All these initiatives will result in positive market sentiment and business will grow,” he viewed. Concor is aiming for early commissioning of MMLPs in the year 2015 to enhance our capacity. In addition, the company is exploring for avenues in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The PSU already has its presence in Nepal .

Anil Gupta, CMD,Concor

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