Panel discussion on India@75 hosted by Informerics Ratings

Kolkata : Informerics Ratings, a leading SEBI & RBI-approved credit rating agency, organized a roundtable discussion on India@75 – The Way Forward on May 25, 2022, at Hotel Taj Bengal, Kolkata, to examine, discuss and assess the state of the economy and to set priorities for the future.

The discussion was led by Padmashri Shri Harsh Vardhan Neotia, a doyen of the industry in India. Top senior executives of Informerics Ratings including Shri Suraj Malik, whole-time Director, Shri B.K. Bajaj, Chief Executive Officer, Shri Amod Khanorkar, Chief Risk Officer, and Dr Manoranjan Sharma, Chief Economist, were the other participants.

Shri Neotia emphasized that the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic is behind us post and India is once again poised for a high-growth trajectory. Nonetheless, he raised concern about the heightened geopolitical crisis after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the high fuel prices that led to increased logistics costs and interest costs. The emergence of a newer variant of the pandemic and now monkeypox is also a growing challenge, he pointed out.

Making a a strong case for broadening the process and accelerating economic development Shri Neotia said – “The benefits of economic growth should be made available to all sections of society. The government and industry must adopt measures to make the growth more equitable.” He further added “The process should be  easy and cost of doing business needs to be emphasized through a structural transformation while addressing the concerns of health, education and employment.”

In response to a query from a member of the audience about whether it is the right time to buy property, Shri Neotia said that since real estate prices have remained flat for the last five years and due to pent-up demand and a sharp rise in input prices, he did not see any chance of real estate prices dropping in the short term.

Talking in terms of the overarching context of India’s development, Dr Manoranjan Sharma highlighted important concerns, issues, and the way forward. The discussion was well attended by captains of the industry, senior bankers, and members of the press and media world.