Ease of doing business has improved but still long way to go, says CII

The ease of doing business in the country has improved in the last 5 to 10 years but there is a long way to go in many areas, the Confederation of Indian industry (CII) said on Friday.

Addressing the media after a meeting of its members from the four western states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Goa, CII Western Region Chairman and Tata Power MD and CEO Praveer Sinha said the industry feels there is a lot of growth happening and there is a lot of opportunity in the country.

In a poll of CEOs conducted by it, 76% of the respondents were of the view that the Indian economy is expected to remain resilient in the backdrop of global geo-political headwinds.

"The ease of doing business has improved but if you ask me if it is 100%, it is not 100%. It is still some 55-60%. That means there are opportunities of improvement," Sinha said.

He said that though the ease of doing business is better than it was 5 or 10 years back, "it is still a long way to go in so many areas".

One big change that has happened in the ease of doing business is the use of digital technology and it helps in securing many approvals online or through digital means, he noted.

"So, I think there has been a lot of improvement but not 100% yet (in some areas)," he added.

According to him, the country is expected to have a good monsoon this year and there will be a pick-up in the rural sector demand.

"The Indian economy to a very large extent is insulated from what is happening in Europe and other places. And it has its own trajectory of growth and that will continue.

"Generally, there is a very buoyant mood in the industry and it strongly believes that India is poised for good growth," he said and added that directionally, the industry is expecting that there will be continued growth.

Economic growth is now more balanced as the growth has moved beyond capital cities into tier-2 and tier-3 cities in the western region states, he said.

He noted that emerging sectors like electric vehicles, data centres, electronic manufacturing, pharma inputs and aircraft manufacturing are expected to not only boost ancillary industry ecosystem but also employment opportunities and skill development initiatives.

"Green energy has a huge growth potential as the renewable energy movement supported by the Government of India through various policy interventions is being adopted by states," Sinha said.

On the CEO poll, CII in a release said that most of the respondents were of the view that the Indian economy will grow 6.5 - 7% during FY24.

Around 70% of respondents indicated that global geopolitical uncertainties and tepid demand conditions may pose risk to the Indian economy while government capex push, improving consumption and moderating inflation were perceived as positive influences, it said.

Moreover, a majority of the respondents indicated that capacity utilisation stood between 80-100% and appeared sanguine on corporate performance and employment scenario in H1FY24 as compared to H2FY23, CII said.

As many as 71% of the CEOs expect bank credit growth to remain in double digits.

The majority opined that the upcoming monetary policy statement is expected to take a neutral stance as inflation tapered to a multi-month low in April 2023, according to the CEO poll.