It says that there is no possibility of stock markets recovering soon and it will put pressure on spending. It implies postponing expenditure, less investments, greater competition and greater pressure on margins. It calls for urgent corporate restructuring. The challenge is to achieve higher growth rate against such heavy odds. The only way out of the crisis is to spur the reform process by focussing on infrastructure development, clearing hurdles and ushering in policy measures for cleaning the capital markets and paving the way for concerted privatisation.
Infrastructure is the variable that can help the growth rate of the economy.
The Railways needs greater autonomy, rational tariff structure, corporate accounting and an integrated logistics service. For the Telecom, a road map for convergence, a composite license system and a spectrum policy for all wireless applications are necessary. The power sector has to be exposed to greater competition through public-private partnership. At the same time, the potential of the high growth sectors such as export of software and its services, e-commerce, biotechnology, drugs and pharmaceuticals, healthcare, media and entertainment, logistics and retailing has to be realised. For the success of the privatisation moves and the public sector enterprise reforms, a dialogue has to be conducted with employees and trade unions keeping them informed of their role in the changed scenario and how they should reorient themselves to new demands.