All of us will be eagerly awaiting the Union Budget to be presented on February 1, 2023, and I think the Union Government will provide policy stability and persist with its mission of nation building for the future. I am hopeful that RBI will continue to play the constructive role in balancing inflation and growth.
With the economies in the West slowing down, one hopes that the supply chain disruptions will ease, and commodity prices will ease. Many new manufacturing facilities will go live, and the manufacturing sector employment should rise. Quite a few infrastructure projects will enter critical path.
India will continue to play a constructive and active role in climate change initiatives and deliver in terms of sustainability goals. The country will build scale and continue to invest in digital initiatives. It is important that both the Government and Private sectors invest more in Innovation and R&D.
With many FTAs getting implemented, we should focus on export growth and expand our share of business in the global supply chain. In many categories, the consumer base is just 300 million and not 1.3 billion, and it is necessary to expand the consumer base by focusing on rural development- rural education, rural entrepreneurship, and rural healthcare. Government alone cannot do it, and the private sector will have to play an active role. As far as retail sector is concerned, all formats will continue to not only coexist, but also do well! I am also a firm believer that ONDC (Open Network Digital Commerce) will be a gamechanger.
Will 2023 be a defining year for India to arrive in the global stage in a big way?
I think we have the potential, and we can do it.
The author, B. Thiagarajan is Managing Director at Blue Star Ltd
