Times Network, India’s premium broadcast network, concluded day 2 of its annual signature event, Times Network India Economic Conclave 2019 (IEC) in Mumbai today.
Themed, ‘$5 Trillion – Aspiration to Action’, day 2 of the conclave witnessed a stellar line up of eminent speaker including Amit Shah – Union Home Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan – Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel, Gita Gopinath – Chief Economist – IMF, Uday Kotak – Executive VC & MD, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Rajnish Kumar – Chairman, SBI, D Subbarao – Former RBI Governor, Sadhguru – Founder, Isha Foundation amongst others, sharing actionable strategies to rejuvenate the confidence of the world in India’s growth story against the backdrop of the on-going economic uncertainty.
MK Anand, MD & CEO, Times Network said, “Times Network is committed to India’s growth story and is invested in taking the nation’s $5 trillion agenda to its realisable conclusion. India Economic Conclave assumes significance at a time when the Economy is facing strong headwinds and it has become crucial for the business and political stakeholders to work together to put the growth wagon back on rails. As leaders in the news media that shapes the opinions of 70-80% key decision makers in the country, I believe it is our responsibility to ensure continuous dialogue between stakeholders who are the levers of the nation’s economic engines. I’m confident IEC will build constructive, collaborative and actionable strategies that helps India achieve its real deserved status amongst the global economies.”
Amit Shah – Union Home Minister, comments on Citizenship Amendment Act, “Few political parties are trying to use the Citizenship Amendment Bill to create discrimination between Hindus and Muslims by manipulating them. I want to make it clear that the bill does not take away anyone’s citizenship but provides citizenship. The act has nothing against minorities. The third generation of many Sikh families who have fled from Afghanistan and Pakistani dalits who are leading a poor life in the boundaries of Haryana and Delhi still haven’t got their citizenship. Also, I want to assure that no citizen of this country will be affected by this act. I am sure people of this country will study and understand the significance of this act and not get manipulated by the politicians. The ongoing protests is a political movement which is being projected under the garb of student movement”.
On India’s quest for sustainable energy, Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel said “India depends a lot on imports and is #3 country in the world when it comes to energy consumption. Import requirement and price volatility is a challenge. Today 70 to 80% of our requirement is depended on imports but with the development of science and technology, this dependency will decrease”.
“When we came into power our strategy was revenue maximization, however, now we have put the focus on production maximization. We are confident our gas production will only increase, and our oil production will go to a plateau. India is going for alternative energy and will have more ethanol, more 2G ethanol, more Bio CNG. We are looking at Hydrogen as a fuel and it is the new form of technology. India is bound to grow, and we will have our own path of energy route. With this, India is creating a gas-based infrastructure by putting more pipelines and investing in contracts in the global market for LNG thereby reducing the pressure of oil price and moving towards becoming a gas-based economy”.
Gita Gopinath – Chief Economist – IMF shared her views that will drive the $5 Trillion Economy, “Most of 2019 witnessed an economic slowdown, but now we are seeing tentative signs of stabilization. Across all countries, manufacturing and global trade were the two sectors that faced slowdown. However, 2020 may see a recovery and I believe there is much more to be done in the financial sector. Non-performing assets resolution must be done in a much timelier fashion”.
“Rural Economy is an important driver of consumption in India and that being slowed down is an issue. Better infrastructure, irrigation and storage facilities will help agriculture sector in increasing productivity. Fiscal consolidation is also critical for India to stay on track. Combined deficit of the Centre and the States having a stable macro-economic environment is hugely important. This government has a huge mandate and strong majority in parliament. They should be able to push through important structural reforms. If we really want to get that big boost, reach the $5 Trillion economy quickly, these reforms are necessary”, she further added.