FICCI welcomes government steps to push the reform agenda further

Nov 21, 2019

 

NEW DELHI, 21 November, 2019: Commenting on the series of announcements made by the government following the cabinet meeting yesterday, Mr Sandip Somany, President, FICCI said, "It is encouraging to see the government take further steps to push the reforms agenda as well as address some of the critical pain points of industry. The decision to undertake strategic disinvestment and transfer management control in entities like Shipping Corporation of India, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and Container Corporation of India are welcome. This would strengthen the performance of these companies and bring in fresh investments for both modernisation and expansion."

 

"The decision to give greater operational authority to the board of NHAI and enabling it to securitise user fee receipts for raising long-term funds from banks is another major positive. The roads and highways sector will get a further fillip through this move and given its multiplier impact, we hope to see other related sectors also witnessing improvement in their performance," added Mr Somany.

 

"The decision to set up a unified regulatory body to supervise the activities of financial services providers in the International Financial Services Centre will add to the ease of doing business for firms that set up a base in IFSC and FICCI welcomes this single window facilitation," said Mr Somany.

 

"Another notable decision of the government is the relief provided to the telecom sector by way of deferment of receipt of spectrum auction instalments due from telecom service providers for the year 2020-21 and 2021-22. This move should provide some headroom to the telecom sector in the country as it is seeing a lot of stress. We must ensure the viability of the sector and FICCI hopes that this is the first step in that direction with more support in the offing from the government," added Mr Somany.

 

"Finally, on the labour code, we have noted the approval accorded by the government to the Industrial Relations Code. This forward movement is noteworthy and we hope that with this move we have moved further ahead on having in place balanced labour regulations in the country that take account of the interest of both the employers and the employees," said Mr Somany.