TLI Staff
New Delhi: Amid all the doom and gloom triggered by Coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains upbeat about India story and sees the country playing pivotal role in the global economic recovery.
Hard-selling India as preferred investment destination, he rolled out red carpet for foreign firms looking to expand their business.
Speaking at the India Global Week 2020 an event on Thursday through video conference, Modi said that green shoots were visible and made strong pitch for foreign investment.
Alluding to a series of policy measures to facilitate investment in the country, the Prime Minister said that the economy is being made more productive, investor-friendly and competitive.
“There are infinite opportunities in a wide range of sectors,” he noted.
Ever since the Unlock 1.0 began, the government has been taking steps to intensify economic activities. Besides addressing the procedural issues, it has committed to pump money to revive the economy which has been slow lane even before Coronavirus hit it hard last march.
“India is fighting a spirited battle against the (Corona)virus. The focus is on improving people’s health as well as the health of the economy. India is seeing clear green shoots when it comes to economic recovery,” Modi said.
After touching record low in decades, the various sectors have reported gradual recovery but remains far below the pre-Covid level. Sectors like automobile, hotels and aviation are in dire need for a major push as demand remains weak and faces future uncertainty.
Some of the high frequency indicators such as PMI manufacturing and services, automobile sales, power consumption and core IIP for the months of April and May reflected weak demand.
Almost all research and rating agencies have substantially cut their growth forecast for FY21 and have predicted contraction in GDP. The government in May announced Rs 21 lakh crore fiscal stimulus but most experts see it terribly short of the requirement to boost demand and accelerate the growth engine.
The government has hinted at more measures to revive the economy but given the surge in Coronavirus cases it is difficult to estimate the intensity of the shock to the economy. Policy-makers hope that demand would get a fillip during the festive season starting October.