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India’s Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry on Monday appointed Rajiv Kumar, a well-known economist, as its new secretary general. He succeeds Amit Mitra, who resigned from the industry body to take over his new job as the finance minister in Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal.
Mr. Kumar, who joined FICCI in 2010 as a senior official, previously worked with the New Delhi think-tank Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations and the Asian Development Bank. He has also been an economic adviser in the finance ministry and worked as chief economist at the Confederation of Indian Industry, the country’s other main industry chamber.
In a telephone interview with India Real Time Monday, Mr. Kumar spoke about plans to liaison with the government and expedite the reform process. Edited Excerpts:
IRT: You said FICCI will be focusing on the reforms agenda. What are the priorities?
Mr. Kumar: The much-talked second-generation reforms have to take roots and be implemented now. We have created a nine-point agenda for economic reforms that concentrate on expanding the share of manufacturing in the economy, higher education and health, agriculture, employment generation and better governance to sustain the growth rate. We are working with the government on an initiative called Invest India to improve the business climate in the country.
IRT: How do you plan to promote Invest India?
Mr. Kumar: Invest India is a public-private joint venture equity partnership to serve as a one-stop shop for speedy and effective execution of domestic investment and increased foreign participation by providing regulatory simplification at all levels in the country.
We are also planning to expand the team by introducing Anupam Srivastava, who is the secretary of the Indian government’s department of industrial policy and R.P. Singh who is the ex-chairman of the board of Invest India, to work closely with state governments and embassies to create better communication.
IRT: What about increasing foreign investment in retail?
Mr. Kumar: There is no doubt that the retail sector has to be upgraded as the current structure cannot meet the demand of a growing population. FICCI not only supports foreign direct investment in the country’s retail sector but also suggests modernizing the space occupied by street vendors and hawkers.
IRT: What do you think industry can do to fight corruption?
Mr. Kumar: There is no single solution to tackle the issue of corruption that is hurting the country’s image. It has to be dealt with at many levels. FICCI had adopted a resolution in Kolkata last year that laid down rules to severely punish anybody involved in corrupt practices, either as payee or recipient, in a fast-tracked process. The self-regulatory measures that can be adopted by the industry also need to be introduced.

Via: India Real Time