Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and MD of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has stated that India is poised for a huge surge in its growth trajectory. However, the man behind India’s biggest private company has also stated that that economic expansion has happened only after the government loosened its ‘regulatory shackles’.
Global consulting firm McKinsey has authored a book, ‘Reimagining India: Unlocking the potential of Asia’s next superpower.’ Ambani has written an essay titled, ‘Making the next leap’ in this book. “I believe India today is potentially poised for another even more stupendous leap on its upward trajectory. India’s relative weight in the global economy and in the world affairs in general is bound to grow,” wrote Ambani.
Talking about the India’s potential growth, he emphasized that changes made should be all-inclusive, comprehensive and in no way fall short of what the market expects. “As the old India gives way more completely to the new India, a certain amount of flux will be generated. However the good developments will far outnumber others. That is one of the great lessons of the past two decades, when the economy expanded at a rapid pace only after the government loosened its regulatory shackles.” An important point made in the essay was of serving the uncountable excluded Indians and new sustainable employment for the nation’s youth brigade. This can only be achieved with concrete efforts from all parties – the government, businesses and the citizens.
India is poised to overtake their Asian rivals China in just under a decade by 2030 in terms of population and also possess the third-largest economy in US Dollar terms. Another huge plus point is the number if people below the age of 35. Illustrating this exact point, Ambani was quoted as saying, “The possibilities are breathtaking. The most exciting prospect of all is the impetus that could come from tapping the surging aspirations of the 700-800 million Indians who remain excluded from India’s success story. If we manage to bring this segment of the population into the economic mainstream, the result will be an enormous enhancement in India’s economic and non-economic power as we generate equality in access despite inequality in income.”
Taking the education sector as an example he said that reduced government control and centralisation, especially in higher education could make a major difference in providing excellent education for all Indians. Another example is Agriculture. With the number of people the sector employs, there is a need to address shortcomings and problems in order to ensure progress at the grassroots level. “I refuse to accept that Indian farmers are deficient in any way compared to those from other economies. We must streamline the regulatory requirements for public-private partnership in agriculture,” said Ambani.
There is a need to increase awareness and information about market conditions and new farming methods. A hugely important thing is greater investment in basic agricultural infrastructure such as irrigation systems and cold chains.