At the late Business Today 'Control Breakfast' hung on May 6, 2014 at The Oberoi Delhi, numerous industrialists were of the view that swelling in India is all the more a political issue than a financial issue. As indicated by sources, they accepted there were numerous courses by which expansion can be checked.
At the recent Business Today ‘Power Breakfast’ held on May 6, 2014 at The Oberoi Delhi, many industrialists were of the view that inflation in India is more of a political problem than an economic problem. According to sources, they believed there were many ways by which inflation can be curbed.
Josey Puliyenthuruthel, Managing Editor, Business Today, moderated the freewheeling panel discussion which was hosted by Jay Rathore, Vice President and General Manager, The Oberoi, New Delhi.
The majority participants agreed that the periodic increases in interest rates by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had hampered industrial activity and could further worsen the situation in the future resulting in slowing down sectors such as infrastructure, mining and power. Ratul Puri, Chairman, Hindustan Powerprojects affirmative with the thought, said that we need to go out and aggressively reduce interest rates to kick-start the economy. He added that we need to raise the power tariffs. People are willing to pay for power. Ravi Uppal, CEO of Jindal Steel & Power, agreed and said that power distribution is the nerve that is paining the most.
Hindustan Powerprojects Pvt., an Indian generator backed by Blackstone Group LP (BX), plans to sell shares in its solar unit as it prepares to double investment in photovoltaic projects to $2 billion by 2016. Ratul puri, chairman of the company, believes it is a sensible business to take to Indian market now. With no immediate need for cash, it will require $1 billion from projects pipelined for the future.
New York-based Blackstone invested $300 million in New Delhi-based Hindustan Powerprojects earlier known as Moser Baer Projects Pvt. in August 2010. The world’s biggest buyout firm holds about 36 percent in the company, Puri said. In his opinion, solar power is a perfect fit for India. He sees efficiency in use of solar power, as it will reduce the cost of transmission and distribution by generating enough power that can be consumed.
Puri claims his company’s plant already has the capacity to allow a listing with 350 megawatts of photovoltaic projects running. Another advantage is that photovoltaic projects can be built in as short a time as six weeks, Puri said, compared with over seven years for Hindustan Powerprojects’ 2,520-megawatt coal-powered project in Anuppur, Madhya Pradesh state.
India’s Commerce Ministry may issue recommendations by May 21 in a two-year-old probe prompted by complaints from domestic solar manufacturers that competitors from the U.S., China, Malaysia, Europe and Japan sold cells below cost.
Puri showed concern saying CPI problem can’t be solved by maintaining high interest rates.
From those who attended, felt Power and Railways deserved more importance and hence better reforms. Some panelists talked about job creation as well. Towards the end of the discussion, some panelists shared their wish list for the new government.
