K C Chakrabarty: Regaining the growth momentum - issues and
imperatives
Address by Dr K C Chakrabarty, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, at the Sixth
Annual Banking Conference "Bank on it, 2013", organised by the Narsee Monjee Institute of
Management Studies, Mumbai, 5 October 2013.
* * *
Assistance provided by Shri Arun Vishnu Kumar is gratefully acknowledged.
1. Shri Pratip Chaudhuri, Former Chairman, State Bank of India; Dr. Rajan Saxena,
Vice-Chancellor, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS); Dr. Debashis
Sanyal, Dean; Dr. Vrinda Kamat, Chairperson (MBA Banking); Mr. C. B. Ramamurthy, my
former boss at Bank of Baroda; faculty and students of the School of Business Management,
NMIMS University; distinguished invitees, members of the print and electronic media, ladies
and gentlemen! At the outset let me congratulate the Institute for being adjudged as the
Fourth Best B-School by Business World and for also receiving an A*** rating from CRISIL. I
would like to commend the University for the excellent service that it is providing to the
students and, consequently, to the nation.
2. It is, indeed, a pleasure for me to be amidst you this morning to deliver the opening
address at the sixth Annual Banking Conference "Bank on it, 2013" organized by the NMIMS
University. It is heartening to be among the budding management professionals who would
be the corporate leaders of tomorrow. The Conference has hosted some illustrious speakers
in the past and deliberated upon various pertinent issues impacting the banking system. I am
glad that the Institute has chosen "Sustaining Growth Amidst Adversity" as the theme for this
year's Conference, a theme which could not be more apt considering the widespread
concerns about the decline in growth momentum in the economy. Having an insider's view of
India's financial system, first as a commercial banker and now as a central banker, I intend to
use this platform today to share my perspectives on India's growth, enterprise, governance,
etc. and what needs to be done to return to the high growth trajectory and to sustain it. It is
all the more inspiring to talk to students on this theme as they are the ones who are going to
be "generators" of growth and the torch bearers for the Indian economy in the days ahead.
3. We are all discussing the different projections of growth likely to be achieved by
India in the current year. The range of projections for the growth in real GDP at factor cost by
various agencies (being quoted in the media) is quite wide, between 4.25 per cent and
5.5 per cent. One must realize that the growth projections made by RBI and, for that matter,
by any other institution are indicative and contingent upon certain assumptions. We can't
expect people to sit idle at their homes and the projected growth rate to be achieved. There
is a general misconception that all the ills of the economy can be cured by RBI or by the
financial system. We must understand that the financial system, on its own, cannot
accelerate the growth process; it can only facilitate the economic growth by providing finance
to the real sector. The basic impetus for sustainable growth has to necessarily emanate from
the real sector. All of us are now well aware that the origins of the Global Financial Crisis lay
in too much of financial innovation and the financial sector running too far ahead of the real
sector. So, a total dependence on the financial sector to solve the problems of the real sector
and accelerate the growth process is unrealistic.
Introduction
4. Coming to the topic of discussion today, i.e. "Sustaining Growth Amidst Adversity", I
think it would have perhaps been more apt to call it "Improving Growth Amidst Adversity".
Mind you, the crisis has affected all the economies globally. In order for us to extricate
ourselves from the deep morass, the first thing to be done is to start thinking positively and to
stop the blame game. Blaming the central bank, banks, the policy makers, the government,
etc. for the crisis is not going to help. Our starting point has to be an analysis of why the
crisis happened in the first place or, more generally, why adversities strike? There are, of
course, many reasons put forth, some economic in nature, some social and some political. I
would discuss these in due course. But one common reason that could perhaps be attributed
to all crises is an all round decline in virtue or discipline. Let me invoke Lord Shri Krishna
here. In Chapter 4 of The Bhagavad Gita, he says:
"यदा यदा ह धमर्स्य ग्लानभर्वत भारत । तदात्मानं
अभ्युत्थानमधमर्स्य ॥
सृजाम्यहम
परत्राणाय वनाशाय च ताम् । धमर्संस्थापनाथार्य सम्भवाम ॥"
साधूनां दुष्कृ युगे युगे
This verse means that "Whenever and wherever there is a decline in virtue and a
predominant rise of irreligion, at that time I descend myself to deliver the pious and to
annihilate the miscreants, as well as to re-establish the principles of religion. I myself appear
millennium after millennium."
5. If we extend this logic to the generation of crisis situation in the financial sector, we
may conclude that financial crisis happens in order to weed out corrupt, inefficient and
fraudulent elements from the system which generally are kept under check in normal times
through good regulations, good policies and good corporate governance practices. The silver
lining, however, is that crises of such magnitude normally happen only once in a life time. To
emerge out of the crisis and move on to a high growth path, we need to develop good virtues
and eliminate wrong practices- indiscipline being one of them. We need to be more
disciplined in our personal and professional roles, more transparent in our work-life, must
reduce wastages, work harder, enhance our productivity and efficiency and upgrade our
skills.
What is our potential growth?
6. Let me now turn to the economic aspect of the theme subject. The first part of the
topic, "Sustaining Growth", raises the question "what growth do we need to achieve and
sustain"? This leads us to the issue of "potential growth". "What is the potential growth rate of
the Indian Economy?" This question has been a subject of active debate in the academic and
policy research circles. There are several methodological issues surrounding the estimation
of potential output. Broadly speaking, there are two approaches, the growth accounting
approach and the statistical filtering techniques. The use of different estimation methods
yield different results leading to considerable uncertainty. Further, in the Indian context, the
non-availability of relevant data aggravates the problem of estimation. Reserve Bank of India
estimates that the trend/potential growth rate of the Indian economy, which averaged around
8.5 per cent during 2005-06 to 2007-08, dipped gradually thereafter and presently stands at
about 7.0 per cent. The draft Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-2017) document indicates that
our full growth potential remains around 9 per cent. To get a perspective on these numbers,
let me now recount India's growth experience since 1951-52.
India's growth journey - a recap
7. India's economic growth story since independence makes an interesting reading.
We can identify about five major phases of growth in India in the sixty-three years since 1950
(Table 1 and Chart 1). As you all know, the first phase coincides with the "low growth"
period.1 During the first phase, 1951-52 to 1979-80, the average annual real GDP grew at
3.5 per cent and per capita income grew at 1.3 per cent, the so-called "Hindu Rate of
Growth"2. Growth was primarily driven by domestic consumption. Investment rate was low
and mostly financed by domestic savings and thus the Current Account Deficit (CAD) was
less than 1 per cent of GDP. Growth during this phase was led by the industrial sector
followed by the services sector (Table 2).
8. Growth accelerated during the second phase (1980-81 to 1993-94). The
acceleration in growth during the 1980s was due to a number of factors, including the early
efforts at industrial and trade liberalization and tax reform during the 1980s, a step-up in
public investment, better performance of all three sectors, and an increasingly expansionist
fiscal policy (Centre's revenue deficit and capital expenditure both increased as a ratio to
GDP in the 1980s). With investment growth outpacing the domestic savings, CAD increased.
With growth picking up, WPI inflation also increased.
9. The growth process of the 1980s, however, turned increasingly unsustainable as
manifest in the growing macroeconomic imbalances over the decade in the form of high
fiscal deficit, high levels of CAD, and increasing levels of external debt, besides a repressive
and weakening financial system. These imbalances culminated in the unprecedented
external payments crisis in 1991, which was managed with the introduction of stabilization
and structural reforms.
10. The economy stabilized around 1993-94 and growth picked up again. The third
phase (1994-95 to 2002-03) witnessed relatively higher growth which ended, however, in
2002-03 with the economy being hit by a severe drought. Investment and savings rate
picked up and the CAD moderated. Inflation also declined. The economy rebounded in the
next five years (the fourth phase: 2003-04 to 2007-08) to post an average growth of nearly
9 per cent with pick-up in investment. With domestic saving growth outpacing investment,
CAD declined further. Inflation was also benign. With the enactment of the Fiscal
Responsibility and Budget Management Acts by the Central Government and various State
Governments, the fiscal deficit was also brought under control. This period was, perhaps, the
"golden period" in India's growth history and, consequently, sparked off the debate about
whether the Indian economy had transformed from an "elephant into a tiger".3
11. The Indian economy grew at 9.5 per cent during the three-year period from 2005-06
to 2007-08 enabled by moderate inflation, fiscal consolidation and acceleration in savings
and investment. This was the highest average growth rate achieved during any three year
period in the history of independent India and it was second only to China among the major
countries during that period.
12. India's high growth story was cut-short, perhaps prematurely, beginning with the
global financial crisis of 2008-09 (real GDP growth dropped to 6.7 per cent). The focus of
macroeconomic policy then was to arrest the contagion of the global crisis. In 2009-10, the
focus of macroeconomic policy shifted from containing the contagion to management of
recovery. The economy rebounded strongly in 2009-10 (8.6 per cent) and 2010-11 (9.3 per
cent). Coordinated fiscal and monetary policies played a significant role in the recovery of the
economy and in the maintenance of financial market stability. The growth momentum has
been losing steam since then, with growth rates of 6.2 per cent in 2011-12, 5.0 per cent in
2012-13 and projected to be around 5.5 per cent in the current year 2013-14. The services
sector, which had been the main driver of India's high growth, also decelerated. The drop in
growth was a result of a combination of domestic and global factors. Global macroeconomic
and financial uncertainty, weak external demand, elevated price levels, widening twin deficits
and falling investment combined to adversely impact growth.
13. One should also remember that due to the high growth achieved in the previous
years, the aspiration of the people in general has gone up and nobody is happy with a
5.5 per cent growth rate. But the problem is that although everybody aspires to grow by more
than 9 per cent, nobody wants to perspire (work hard) for achieving it. For our society to
prosper we have to consistently achieve a growth rate of above 9% for the foreseeable future
and for this, the real sector would have to grow consistently. This can only be achieved by
increasing productivity and efficiency and ensuring optimum utilization of resources. Let me
add that it is also for the budding management professionals like you to go to the field and
put in place systems that will encourage the people to aspire and perspire to achieve the
potential growth.
How have we fared vis-à-vis the rest of the World?
14. We have been one of the fastest growing economies in the World. This is evidenced
in the growing share of India in the World's GDP in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) terms
since 1980 (Chart 2). As I mentioned earlier also, the challenges that currently confront our
economy are not unique to India. Several countries across the globe are grappling with the
problem of tardy growth rates. One of the unwelcome consequences of Indian economy's
growing integration with the rest of the world is that we are no longer decoupled from the
global economic growth trends. The current low rate of economic growth globally, has also
hampered our mission of regaining higher growth rates.
What have been our strengths over the years?
Vibrant democracy has made India resilient
15. That India has been a vibrant democracy since the adoption of the Indian
Constitution has been our greatest strength. In the more than six and a half decades since
independence, the nation has faced many adversities, external aggression and famines in
the early years, some drought years, the oil crisis of the 70s, the BoP Crisis in the early 90s
followed by the South-east Asian crisis in the late 90s, the global financial crisis that began
with the US sub-prime crisis and currently, the eurozone crisis. A vibrant democracy and our
resilience have helped us surpass all the adversities so far. I am sure we will wade through
the current crisis as well.
India has the capability to grow at 9 per cent and above
16. Looking at our growth history and our performance vis-à-vis the rest of the World,
we can definitely say that the Indian economy has the potential to grow at 9 per cent and
above. Therefore, we are currently growing below our potential and closing this negative
output gap (i.e., actual growth minus potential growth) should be our highest priority. The
next priority would be to raise the potential growth path itself.
17. However, there are some fundamental problems facing our economy which require
urgent corrective measures. There is a common perception in the society that RBI is killing
growth by keeping the interest rates high. Here, I want clarify that it is not because of RBI but
because of inflation that the interest rates in the system are high. And for the inflation to
moderate, the productivity and efficiency of all sectors in the economy has to improve. If we
have to achieve growth rate of 9 per cent and above, the inflation has to be below 5 per cent.
The higher inflation also puts pressure on our exchange rate and further aggravates the
problem of Current Account Deficit. Added to that is the problem of import of gold. India
being a poor country and in need for foreign exchange, the import of gold of more than
$56 billion will not help in controlling the CAD and bringing down the inflation. While there
has been some moderation in gold imports, primarily due to the recent measures introduced
by the Government and the Reserve Bank, there is an urgent need to create awareness
among the people about the problems faced by the country due to the high import of gold.
This calls for a cultural change and I place my hope on this young brigade of management
students to bring that orientation in the society. Let me re-emphasize that currency stability
can only be achieved by bringing down inflation and CAD within manageable limits.
18. So far, growth has primarily been driven by domestic consumption followed by
investment which was funded mostly through domestic savings. But in a persistently high
inflation economy the propensity of the people to save has gradually declined, which is
hampering our investments. Therefore, we have to increasingly rely on foreign inflows for
achieving the potential growth. In this context, there is a need to have a relook at the current
policies governing FDI in sectors like Retail, Banking, Insurance, etc. Actually we have a
situation where we are asking more questions when the money comes in rather than when
money is going out. We have to create policies which are conducive for the funds to flow into
our economy for helping the economic growth. Concomitantly, we also have to create an
enabling environment for rekindling the savings habit among ordinary citizens.
Reaping the demographic dividend
19. India is a young nation and our population is also young. This "demographic
dividend", which has helped us in the past, would definitely help us in the future as well.
However, in this age of technology and innovation, we need highly skilled human capital to
give us an edge over other nations. For this, India needs to considerably step up its public
spending on education and health. The quality of education also needs to undergo a
significant change towards promoting innovation and entrepreneurship. More funds need to
be invested for setting up institutions in the areas of Research and Development with special
emphasis on improving productivity and efficiency in labour intensive sectors like agriculture,
medium and small industries, etc. It is important to recognize that unless we are able to
properly harness the demographic dividend, it could turn into a demographic curse.
20. One more advantage which we have is that our overall levels of productivity and
efficiency are so low that the only way for it is to go up. You are a blessed lot who would
have the skill sets to do well when you go out in the job market. Believe me, there is and
always will be a demand for skilled professionals in not only a growing economy like India,
but also worldwide.
Issues that remain and how do we resolve them, going forward?
21. Various reasons are attributed to the growth slowdown in recent times, some global
and some domestic. The global factors, of course, are well-known, which include the global
financial and economic crisis followed by the Eurozone crisis and in recent times, the
uncertainty over the US Fed's move on tapering off the quantitative easing. My focus here is
more on the domestic issues as these are under our control.
Governance and policy issues
22. India is still below average on key governance parameters as indicated by the World
Bank's worldwide governance indicators compiled from 1996 to 2012. There have not been
significant improvements in our governance (Chart 3). Clearly, there is a lot of scope for
improvement on these parameters. Both our overall governance and corporate governance
needs improvement. In fact, we need better governance at every level - from hospital and
educational institutions to polity, firms, non-profit institutions, banking and finance, regulation,
land records and even in our daily lives.
Optimising the use of natural resources
23. We need to devise suitable policies that optimize the use of natural resources, like
wind, water, energy and mineral resources.
Enhancing infrastructure investments
24. Every developed economy has world class infrastructure and we are fortunate that
we do not have any dearth of skilled engineers who can build these infrastructure for our
country. But our problem is that while there is a demand for world class infrastructure, people
are generally not inclined to pay for utilising these facilities. This attitude in our society has to
change and people have to realize that unless these infrastructure facilities become
selfsustaining, further investments in setting up such infrastructure may not be forthcoming. In
this context, it is certain that we would have to make some sacrifices of our natural resources
but it is equally important to ensure that people who are displaced are compensated in a just
and equitable manner. Increasing investments in infrastructure and implementing the
projects within a reasonable time frame, would provide a much needed fillip to the economy
and galvanize it for all round progress and development.
Innovation and entrepreneurship
25. India has been lagging behind in innovation and entrepreneurship. We are ranked
89th out of the 118 nations in the Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index, 2013
(GEDI), published by GEDI, a specialized non-profit research and consulting firm. The "Doing
Business 2013 report", a study conducted by the International Finance Corporation of the
World Bank Group ranks India at 173rd among the 185 countries surveyed on the criteria of
"starting a business". As I mentioned earlier, our education system needs to restructure itself
significantly to promote innovation and entrepreneurship. As students of one of the premier
institutions for management education in the country, I do expect that many of you would
unleash your entrepreneurial energies to set up successful start-up business ventures
instead of merely building up careers in already established firms.
Funding of Entrepreneurship
26. Funding is one of the key concerns for any start-up venture. In this regard, it may be
mentioned that SEBI data shows that investment by Venture Capital Funds (VCFs) and
Foreign Venture Capital Investors (FVCIs), which had peaked at about 3.1 per cent of GDP
at current market prices in Q3 of 2010(Jul-Sept), has started declining since then (Chart 4).
There is a need to reverse this trend.
27. India is emerging as an attractive destination for risk capital. There is, however, a
need to further improve the entrepreneurial ecosystem by enhancing availability of risk
capital to entrepreneurs at start-up and early stage. It was in this context that the Planning
Commission constituted, in October 2011, a Committee on Angel Investment and Early
Stage Venture Capital chaired by Shri Sunil Mitra.4
28. The Sunil Mitra Committee believes India's entrepreneurial growth can be
accelerated by creating more conducive conditions - a catalytic government and regulatory
environment, adequate capital flows (both debt and equity), support from businesses and
society, and availability of appropriate talent and mentoring. Keeping in view the significant
impact of taking forward these recommendations in the strategic area of employment and
wealth creation in the country within the coming decade, the Committee had proposed the
entrustment of the critical task of coordination to a National Entrepreneurship Mission. The
recommendations of the Committee need to be examined in detail and appropriate action
initiated on a priority basis so that bottlenecks in flow of funds to new ventures are overcome.
Ease of doing business
29. India still needs to go a long way in creating an enabling and conducive business
environment. We are ranked 132nd of the 185 countries in the "ease of doing business" as
per the "Doing Business 2013" report. We need to create an effective institutional framework
to support the genuine needs of businesses and to ensure that the entrepreneurial spirit of
our people is not curbed by avoidable procedural complications. I am sure the Government
and policy makers are fully seized of the issue and steps are being taken to remediate the
situation.
Enhancing productivity
30. Low productivity has been a constraint over the years, more so in the case of
agriculture and industry, perhaps less so in the case of the services sector. For instance,
India is the second largest producer of Rice, Wheat, Sugarcane and Groundnut in the World
(in 2010). However, the yields of these crops are much lower than that in the leading
countries. There is an urgent need to enhance productivity in all the sectors as it is one of the
critical drivers of growth.
31. I strongly believe that productivity and efficiency in banking services would be the
bulwark for all round economic development in India.5 There have been definitive
improvements in the productivity and efficiency parameters in the banking sector in India.
However, the sector has only witnessed enhancements in operational efficiency and the
allocational efficiency has suffered, whereby all segments of the society have not really
benefitted.
32. Considering the challenges currently confronting the economy, there is little doubt
that now is the time for the next big productivity push in Indian banking. There is a need for
the entire paradigm of banking productivity and efficiency to be reoriented to be in alignment
with our national priorities.
Measures initiated by the government and RBI so far
33. Let me recount some of the recent measures initiated by the Government and the
Reserve Bank so far. Since the second week of September 2012, the Government of India
announced a number of policy measures with the objective of strengthening the investment
climate in the economy, which include, inter alia, the setting up of the Cabinet Committee on
Investments (CCI) chaired by the Prime Minister, the liberalisation of FDI in multi-brand retail,
aviation and broadcasting, and fast tracking of large investment projects in the areas of
power, petroleum and gas, roads, coal, etc. The Government has also set up the Project
Monitoring Group in the Cabinet Secretariat for monitoring the implementation of these
highvalue projects.
34. A High Level Committee on Manufacturing, headed by the PM, has been created for
monitoring the implementation of the national manufacturing policy. The Government also
proposes to set up an independent regulatory authority for the coal sector and has proposed
changes in the natural gas pricing policy. The Government has also liberalised FDI norms in
some more sectors including petroleum and natural gas refining, single brand retail trading,
basic and cellular services, asset reconstruction companies, etc.
35. Towards creating economic space, the Finance Minister, in Union Budget 2013-14,
sought to reduce the fiscal deficit to 4.8 per cent of GDP in 2013-14 from 5.2 per cent in the
previous year. The Budget also proposed to carry forward the initiatives to boost
infrastructure investment, including encouraging Infrastructure Debt Funds, credit
enhancement via IIFCL-ADB to infrastructure companies that may access the bond market,
increase in the aggregate ceiling of issuance of tax-free bonds to Rs.50,000 crore in
2013-14, setting up a regulatory authority for the road sector to address issues such as
financial stress, enhanced construction risk and contract management. Furthermore, in order
to attract new investment and to quicken the implementation of projects, an investment
allowance for new high value investments was introduced. This is expected to provide
enormous spill-over benefits to small and medium enterprises.
36. To reduce the CAD to sustainable levels, the Reserve Bank and Government of
India have taken various policy measures including, inter alia, (i) an increase in the customs
duty on gold, (ii) instructions to all nominated banks/nominated agencies to ensure that at
least one fifth of every lot of import of gold (in any form/purity including import of gold
coins/dore) is exclusively made available for the purpose of export and (iii) issuance of
inflation linked bonds to wean away investors from gold to other savings instruments.
37. The Prime Minister's Office has been monitoring the CAPEX and investment plans
of selected Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) since FY 12-13 with a view to
enhance investment in the economy and use CPSEs to drive economic growth.
Developments in the banking sector
38. Coming specifically to the banking sector, I would like to emphasize that this sector
plays a very important role in the economic growth of the country, by providing finance to the
different sectors of the economy. Though our banking system continues to remain vibrant in
terms of capital and profitability, despite the economic downturn, we cannot afford to relax.
While the asset quality of the banking system is under stress, the situation is still
manageable. Let me, however, highlight that as per our analysis, the higher NPAs in the
banking system are, in a large measure, also attributable to some laxity in lending standards
in the benign environment that preceded the Global Financial Crisis. We are witnessing
another disconcerting trend in our economy and that is the corporate sector and Government
have become highly leveraged. The banks have to be more discreet in lending to the highly
leveraged corporates. The bank credit is primarily meant to be utilized for productive
purposes and hence, people cannot be allowed to eat credit.
39. Specifically, there is lot of scope for improvement in our public sector banks in terms
of governance, risk management capabilities and human capital. One of the primary reasons
for the Financial Crisis was the greed and unethical practices of the market participants.
History bears testimony to the fact that an inefficient system breeds indiscipline, which in turn
leads to wastage of resources, complacency, frauds, low growth, etc. Our banking system
has to ensure that it remains efficient and supports the activities of the real sector.
Message for Students
40. I am wary of giving advice to the students as people of your generation are not too
receptive to advices. So, I would just give you some suggestions. I would like to give three
messages, which I always do whenever I get an opportunity to interact with the students. My
first message is that you must strive to achieve "third generation literacy". While the first
generation of literacy pertains to acquiring knowledge by reading books; the second
generation literacy pertains to knowledge about computers and information technology. I am
sure all of you have attained the first and second generation of literacy. However, the third
generation of literacy that I am talking about is being "information literate". What I mean is
that you should always be aware of the things happening around you. You should be hungry
to learn more and constantly update yourself by keeping your curiosity to seek and assimilate
knowledge, alive. My second message to you is never be complacent in life. Think positive
and avoid complacency. It is all the more important if you enter the financial sector, because
few moments of complacency can lead to disastrous results. In fact, when I am asked,
whether I am concerned, I say "Yes, I am". For that matter even RBI governor is always
concerned because people in the financial sector and those dealing with money cannot
afford to be complacent even for a single moment. My third and final message is that, life is
not a bed of roses and in your career you are bound to face some bad times. Also when the
bad times come, they arrive from all directions. During this period you should lie low, do not
get desperate and pray to God, for good times are bound to come back again. You will
always be successful in your life and professional career, if you follow the above three
commandments. The knowledge you have acquired at this institute will open the doors of
success for you in whichever field you choose.
Conclusion
41. Let me conclude by saying that not only our problems are much simpler than most
nations; we are also well aware of them. We have a growing population and, hence, we
would continue to have a base level of growth whatever be the situation. The issue,
therefore, is not to just "sustain" growth but to grow at our higher "potential" growth rate. To
my mind, productivity and efficiency enhancements are central to achieving this higher
growth rate. We must not get bogged down by the fact that others are not really doing their
part, nor should we wait for everything else to be in place before setting our house in order.
Charity begins at home and hence, we should do what is within our capability irrespective of
the constraints surrounding us. The society has to collectively demand probity, accountability
and transparency in public life and develop strict intolerance towards indiscipline.
42. I would once again like to thank Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies
University and the faculty and students of the School of Business Management for inviting
me to this Conference for sharing my thoughts on a topical subject. I am sure the bright
young minds of the NMIMS would reflect on the issues that I have raised today and further
deliberate and ideate on how India can regain its growth momentum in the coming days. As
future business managers and potential captains of the industry, you carry a burden of
expectations of an entire nation. I believe with hard work, we would be able to overcome the
adversities and return to higher growth trajectory sooner than others. I would like to end with
a quote from an American Novelist, Nora Roberts which says "if you don't g