GUWAHATI: Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) today said that the impact of demonetisation was almost over and the market has started to revive with modest growth in March.
"Recovery from demonetisation is almost over. We are pretty well back (on track). Industry players have informed us of modest growth in March," CII president Naushad Forbes said at a press conference here.
There was significant impact on consumption in November when the demonetisation exercise was announced, he said. "In November, consumption fell by as much as 30 per cent. In December, it was down by 10-15 per cent. During January, it was more or less the same as that of the same period last year," Forbes said. He suggested that the India Inc should look at life beyond demonetisation and work for the projected economic growth of 9-10 per cent for the next 20-25 years.
"We are at a very good point of economy. India is projected to be one of the 10 best economies in the next 25 years. The consumption is very high. It is 60 per cent of our GDP growth. Because of this, the economic growth is resilient," Forbes said. He said that rapid growth has been witnessed in some of the poorest states in Eastern and Central India during the last 10 years, leading to reduce the gap with developed states.
"However, equitable growth has not been achieved yet. There is huge potential, especially in North East. We are here to talk to the government over investment proposals and easing the environment," the CII president said. He said that CII officials would discuss with Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal over the issue of attracting investors to the state.
CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said that Assam was improving, but it has to do a lot more in ease of doing business. CII is also planning to organise ASEAN car rally to focus on North East's potential on doing business with South Asian nations, he said.