Minakshi Batra, Director India, IDA Ireland

“Over the last two years, the government has introduced a host of economy-boosting policies such asthe ‘Ten point economic stimulus package’ as well as RBI’s interest rate-cum-monetary policy to cushionthe impact of the global financial crisis. While these initiatives have helped the country accelerate itsgrowth levels, our aspirations of crossing the double digit growth threshold still remains unfulfilled.
At a macro level, controlling fiscal deficit is a direct function of controlling inflation, which can beachieved through reduction in import duties and integration with the global marketplace. The risinginflation is a reflection of the sorry state of affairs with regards to food related infrastructure andstorage in India. While road infrastructure has been given its due focus and attention, the governmentneeds to consider the potentially accruable benefits by infusing technological advancements in itsinfrastructural framework of the agriculture and food industry. Another closely linked issue here is thatof rising fuel prices. While petrol prices were deregulated in the pursuit of controlling fiscal deficit, thegovernment should now consider freeing up diesel prices as well.
In terms of budget expectations from specific sectors, I would like to highlight BFS and Pharmaceuticalsverticals which are unarguably amongst the growth drivers of the country. While the IT-ITeS industryhas more or less stabilized on the back of sufficient SOPs over a period of time, the pharmaceuticalsector in India currently grows at 11-12%, which is lagging as compared to the global growth levels by5-6%. The government's Vision 2015 statement had indicated an 18%+ CAGR for the pharmaceuticalsector, translating to doubling of revenues to $40 billion over the next five years. Towards this end, theGovernment should try to ensure that critical drugs are available at affordable prices which could bedone by rationalizing duties and encouraging competition. In the Banking sector, a concerted efforttowards boosting ‘mobile banking’ would accelerate the growth of this industry. As the penetration oftelecom services grow at a rapid rate, such a system will bring more individuals into the banking fold.’’