Govt must unleash bold reforms: India Inc

New Delhi: Attaining a GDP growth rate of 6 to 6.5 per cent in 2020-21 as projected by the Economic Survey will be "challenging" and the government needs to prioritise growth while unleashing bolder policy measures to achieve it, experts and industry bodies said on Friday.

India's economic growth is expected to "strongly rebound" to 6-6.5 per cent in 2020-21 from 5 per cent estimated in the current fiscal, said the Economic Survey 2019-20 tabled in Parliament on Friday by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, adding that the government with a strong mandate has the capacity to expedite reforms.

"The 6-6.5 per cent growth pegged by the Economic Survey for 2020-21, is a target that is achievable with the right dose of reforms and public investments," CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said.

The chamber said as the Economic Survey is a precursor to the Union Budget, it expects some of the bold reforms highlighting trust, entrepreneurship and primacy of the market to be reflected in the Budget announcements.

Leader Economic Advisory Services at PwC India Ranen Banerjee said attaining the projected growth rate of 6-6.5 per cent will be challenging. "The demand cycle is yet to pick up in India. Global growth including India is likely to be significantly impacted by the corona virus factor taking cues from history of impacts from the SARS outbreak," he noted.

Economist at Deloitte India Rumki Majumdar said the Survey projects growth revival in FY 2021 but suggests that the government may have to incur expansionary policy to support growth. "As has been argued earlier, the government has to prioritise growth. Once the momentum picks up, the government can take action to consolidate its expenses," Majumdar observed.

Assocham President Niranjan Hiranandani said it strongly advocates that the Central government needs to announce bolder policy and fiscal measures to recover from "sharp economic downturn and somnolent market scenario".