INDIA RISE ANNUAL REPORT 2018-19 RESPONSIBLE | INCLUSIVE | SUSTAINABLE | ENTREPRENEURIAL 2 CII Annual Report 2018-19 INDIA RISE ANNUAL REPORT 2018-19 PRESIDENT’S REVIEW LOOKING BACK The year gone by was an action-packed year as we sought to fi gure out multiple sources of volatility in the global and Indian economic environment. Within this, our strong policy advocacy and multifaceted activities gained momentum at the National and State-levels, to ensure positive outcomes for Indian Industry. India cemented its position as the fastest growing major economy in the world, with an expected growth of 7% for 2018-19, with stable macroeconomic indicators and continued reforms. However, challenges relating to performance of agriculture, private investments, and poverty alleviation remain. Industry’s role as a responsible partner in development is central to our overall progress as a nation. Mr Rakesh Bharti Mittal President, CII As we approach India@75 in 2022, CII’s vision of an India of economic strength, technological vitality, moral leadership and inclusive growth was taken forward with the theme of ‘India RISE: Responsible. Inclusive. Sustainable. Entrepreneurial.’ I am happy to report progress on these key areas. CII’s policy recommendations helped promote entrepre- neurship and investment, working on issues such as liquidity crunch, rupee volatility, fl uctuating oil prices and others. We presented detailed inputs on kick- starting the credit cycle, reinvigorating MSMEs, and the key sectors of agriculture, manufacturing, services and infrastructure. Needless to say, this was a year of continuous engagement with Government, including the Prime Minister, various ministers, and senior offi cials. We celebrated India’s remarkable performance in Ease of Doing Business rankings to reach 77th rank in the 2019 World Bank’s Doing Business indicators. I am happy to note that CII’s eff orts in simplifi cation of procedures yielded signifi cant results. We got a tremendous response from regions and Members by holding National Council meetings outside metros - at Pune, Guwahati, Chandigarh and Hyderabad, as Kochi meeting was cancelled due to fl oods. 2 CII Annual Report 2018-19 CII came out with many new ideas for revitalizing farming, In the sustainability sphere, it was very satisfying the income source for the majority of workers. We to launch the India Business Disability Network for submitted recommendations on Ease of Doing Agriculture accessible corporate workplaces. A notable initiative index, long term leasing of agriculture land, freedom for sustainability was our pilot project with farmers in to farmers to sell directly in addition to Mandis and two Punjab districts to address stubble burning that harnessing solar power as a third crop. We also conducted is impacting air quality. Sensitization of 3,000 farmers many pan-India workshops to promote horticulture trade and alternative biomass management over 15,000 through the electronic platform, e-NAM. I fi rmly believe acres was indeed a success story. that it is our responsibility to ensure stronger Industry participation in agriculture for inclusive growth. CII engaged intensely in disaster relief during the damaging Kerala fl oods. It was heartening that so India has the potential to play a major role in the emerging many companies came forward with relief material technologies and digital economy. CII continued its and volunteers, enabling a targeted and long-term work on stimulating Industry investments in R&D and response. I am happy that Young Indians (Yi) actively promoting start-ups. participated in the relief eff orts. In fact, Yi now has a vast presence across the country with 42 chapters. With job creation and skill development as key imperatives for Industry, we scaled up our initiatives of We had started the Mentorship Programme when multi-skill centers, Model Career Centers and job fairs. I was Vice President and I am happy to see how it has These provide tangible benefi ts to lakhs of youth and we taken off . 165 Mentors volunteered and some 340 are achieving ambitious targets on this front. new joinees received guidance. This year, focus on the North East was a personal mission It was personally fulfi lling to contribute to a for me. Apart from meeting Chief Ministers of the region, productive year in CII. I extend warm gratitude to we also felicitated notable sportswomen which helped Uday and Vikram for sharing my responsibilities and attract investor attention. With multiple opportunities their continuous support throughout the year. I also for business as well as connecting with our vibrant East thank the Regional Chairpersons for their dedication Asian neighborhood, Industry would do well to expand in and for bringing innovative ideas to the table. this beautiful region. I deeply appreciate the eff orts of all the Council and Committee Chairpersons, the offi ce bearers and CII continued to strengthen India’s international CII Secretariat for their contributions that yielded engagement to connect Indian and global businesses. another successful year for CII. I had the opportunity of interacting with various Heads of States and Government, policymakers, Industry bodies and think tanks while leading delegations to the US, UK, Japan, Singapore, Australia, South Africa, Chile, Russia and Uzbekistan, among others. A particularly important occasion was our visit to Singapore, as we celebrated 25 years of CII’s engagement with this important country. Globalization will remain a key source of India’s future growth and Indian Industry must actively participate in the new opportunities arising in the global marketplace. CII Annual Report 2018-19 3 PRESIDENT DESIGNATE’S REPORT LOOKING AHEAD CII’s contribution to nation building has grown markedly over the years and policy interventions took centerstage during 2018-19 as we embarked on driving growth across all sectors by addressing key horizontal issues. Our engagement with central and state Governments for providing Industry inputs as well as partnerships for action in key areas remained robust, bringing new opportunities for Industry members. With India continuing on a strong growth path, it was important to boost private sector investments. Towards this, CII strongly took up the liquidity and credit availability challenges in the fi nancial sector with the Government and RBI. We submitted notable recommendations Mr Uday Kotak on resolving issues facing Non-Banking Financial President-Designate, CII Corporations (NBFCs), increasing capital for public sector banks, and building liquidity in the system. Specifi c suggestions to ease credit access for the MSME sector were provided, including lowering margin and guarantee requirements and faster processing. I am happy that RBI took up timely credit approvals as per our submissions. India has huge potential to become a global manufacturing hub. CII developed a roadmap for achieving the target of ‘US $1 Trillion Manufacturing Economy by 2025’ and identifi ed critical horizontal and sectoral measures. To promote smart manufacturing, CII launched a portal, www.ciismart.in, which showcases its productivity impact. Sector-specifi c issues such as tariff and non-tariff barriers for capital goods, regulatory hurdles, upcoming mining leases, and appropriate timeframe for iron and steel plants to adopt environmental standards were taken up with the Government. CII continued its eff orts towards intelligent urbanization towards the mission of 100 Smart Cities. 4 CII Annual Report 2018-19 Our infrastructure needs are humongous, and fi nance common platform, continues to play an instrumental remains a challenge for the sector. CII suggested that role in shaping policy and providing insights into the Government set up more Development Finance performance and outlook for Industry through its Institutions (DFIs) which could raise long term funds for surveys and reports. the sector. As delayed payments impact project progress, we took this up with concerned ministries extensively. On India’s export potential remains largely untapped power, including renewable energy, apart from end-to- and during the year we advocated fi scal incentives, end policy recommendations, CII also actively participated procedural rationalization, and enhancing market on several platforms, such as International Solar Alliance access to boost exports. Besides, our overseas and RE-INVEST, with the Government. connectivity in terms of inward and outward delegations continued at a fast pace. I must stress India’s services sector fuels the country’s growth that with the rest of the world trading through free accounting for a major part of the GDP and our Services trade arrangements, India too has to become a part of Council has been focusing on expanding the services the upcoming agreements, despite the move towards export portfolio and exploring newer markets. To enable protectionism in some economies. India to maximize its comparative advantages, we are involved in creating a robust standards ecosystem and We need to accelerate the momentum of CII’s conformity assessment platform. multi-stakeholder approach to nation-building and I look forward to the continuing contributions of all Ayushman Bharat, the world’s largest healthcare scheme, Members as we collectively work towards India@75. was a landmark initiative by the Government this year. CII welcomes the thrust on aff ordable healthcare for all and is working towards encouraging private healthcare provider participation. MSMEs are huge employment generators and were a high focus during