NEW DELHI: The notion that private investments are not picking up in India may be misplaced, according to Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar. The problem, according to him, lies in the way credit offtake is analysed. Most people, he pointed out, use only the data of public-sector banks (PSBs) as the proxy for private sector investment.
“But if you look at credit offtake of private sector banks, it has now risen quite well. Also, the number of initial public offerings (IPOs) has been higher than the previous year. So, if you look at all things taken together, the picture is not at all bad,” Kumar said.
Kumar, who made these comments in an interview to a news agency, is of the opinion that a large number of areas have seen substantial increase in employment opportunities. These jobs, he added, may not necessarily in the formal sector. To support this argument, the Niti Aayog chairman pointed out that the number of provident fund accounts has increased. Also, there is a significant jump in the number of employees within the services sector, especially in tourism, civil aviation, transport and services sector, he said.
“Let me say that the lack of employment story, I think, is quite exaggerated,” Kumar said. On the reform push by the Narendra Modi government, he said it’s time for consolidation of reforms, including the goods and services tax, bankruptcy code and benami law that have initiated by the Modi government. According to Kumar, the government’s new initiatives that would be taken in the next 18 months should focus on health and education sectors as these two are going to be critical for human resource development.
“The Modi government has done far too much in those 42 months. It has taken some major steps. My view is that time has come for consolidation and making sure that these reform steps which have been taken yield the desired fruits,” he said.
On overall macroeconomic environment in the country, he said the rating upgrade by Moody’s was clear vindication of the fact that the macroeconomic environment in the country is improving, specially with regards to the investor sentiments.