Inflation is No.1 concern for India Inc: CII president T V
Narendran
Dec
retail inflation rises to 6-month high of 5.59%; Nov IIP growth at 1.4%
Factory
output decelerates in November, retail inflation spikes in December
Tata
Steel PAT up 139% to Rs 9,598 cr in Dec qtr on economic recovery
Tata
Steel Q3 net profit surges 139% to Rs 9,598 cr, revenue rises 45%
·
Q: What is your
assessment for FY23 at a time of volatile commodity prices and disruption in
supply chain?
Ans:
>Corporates should bring in resilience and agility in the way they work
>CII toned
down the growth forecast a bit, but overall sentiment among corporates is
positive
>CII’s 7.5 to 8% growth estimate makes India one of
the fastest growing large economies
>Corporates keen to spend more capex and hire more
people than they did in the past
>The existing headwinds are not expected to derail the
growth trajectory of India Inc Q: More than growth, the concern this
year is inflation. We know how inflation will impact households. How will it
impact corporates? Will corporates pass on all of their input cost increase to
customers?
Ans:
>Some of the input cost increase will be passed on to
the consumers
>Many corporates exploring export markets to absorb
some of the inflationary pressures
>There will be margin compression, but that won’t
translate into losses
>High commodity prices are encouraging companies in
the commodity space to invest more
>Govt’s focus on infrastructure spending will sort out
supply-chain issues
>With contact sectors (like hospitality and tourism)
coming back, household incomes will stabilise Q:
Will a hit on margins due to inflation impact private-sector capex just as it
is picking up?
Ans:
>Sectors that announced their capex programme will
continue to spend
>Sectors that have announced capex are mining,
chemicals, electronics manufacturing, warehousing etc
>Investments will continue in newer areas like climate
economy and renewable energy
>A lot of investment is happening in airport
privatisation and ports because volumes are going up Q:
While the employment situation is better than 2020, it is still a problem.
Millions are reportedly leaving the job market, especially women. How bad do
you think is the unemployment situation right now? What more can be done from
the government’s side and the private sector side?
Ans:
>Employment situation has been tough for many, like
migrant workers and women
>Data reveals employment in agriculture has gone up.
This is because agriculture has had strong growth
>While we are obsessed with education, there needs to
be a greater obsession with skilling
>Government should ensure more sector-specific
upskilling of the workforce
>Private sector should also do more towards skill
development of workforce
>Private sector needs to work through its contractors
to drive that ecosystem
>To bridge that talent gap, the private sector and the
government need to work together