Next Friday (May 26) , Prime Minister Narendra Modi will complete three years in power, a tenure marked by achievements on various fronts while there have been setbacks also. Industry captains, lobby groups and members of the Modi government will be coming out with statements over the next few years, mostly on expected lines. The BJP-led NDA came to power in May 2014, ending the 10-year rule of the Congress-led UPA at the Centre.
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Industry body Assocham said the government's biggest success in the past three years has been the push to implement the Goods and Service Tax (GST). "...its biggest achievement on economic front would be the Goods and Services Tax which is near a roll-out," Assocham said in a statement on Sunday.
"The implementation of GST in the next few weeks would cap other major initiatives of the government. The focus on improving ease of doing business through measures like GST and other taxation reforms has also been noted as one of the major achievements of the NDA government," Assocham president Sandeep Jajodia said, citing "perception" of the body's members.
Other "credible steps" to improve the economy include "financial inclusion, digitisation and public investment on infrastructure like railways and power distribution," according to the industry body.
It listed steps initiated in the oil and gas sector, such as tightening of the subsidy disbursal to eliminate leakages, reduction in subsidies on cooking gas resulted in "improvement in balance sheets" of oil marketing companies.
Other achievements listed by Assocham include: record foreign exchange reserves, sharp appreciation of the rupee and foreign direct investment (FDI) reaching new levels.
Net FDI equity inflows stood at $43.47 billion for 2016-17, up nine percent from $40 billion in the preceding fiscal, according to an update by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion. The inflows stood at $30.93 billion for 2014-15.
India's foreign exchange reserves hit a lifetime high of $375.71 billion as of May 5, 2017, while retail inflation for April dropped to 2.99 percent. Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty also hit new highs during the week ended May 19.
The agenda, so to speak, for the government, for the remaining two years should focus on stressed sectors like metals, construction and real estate, telecom and power generation, Assocham said.
