Industry needs out of box ideas to keep pace with start-ups: FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has asked the Indian industry to come out with “out of box investment drawing” and “technology drawing” ideas to keep pace with the start ups which are moving faster than the industry. During a post budget interaction with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the finance minister also nudged the industry to step up on the sustainable development goals which, she stressed, is the need of the hour in the post Covid and post Ukraine world.

“Out of the box investment drawing ideas, out of the box technology drawing ideas, out of the box working together with the start ups to get your solutions will have to be yet more energetic. I find the pace at which the start ups and their solutions are moving actually they are moving faster than you,” Sitharaman said.  

“You should move as fast as they do, or else you are going to be where you are and they will find newer industry or business activity for which they will come up with solutions which are lucrative and you are going to be where you are. So I would think working together with the start ups is the need of the hour and you should now unhesitatingly partner to derive the benefit,” she added.  

Sitharaman also urged the industry to adopt sustainable development goals at a faster pace. “I do believe the arguments that i have taken up in defence of your case. I find great sensitivity for the challenges you are facing. Your investments plans have to be more calibrated not just for expansion sake but also SDG goals.

“I have been preaching that the Indian industry is going through this calibration and churn and therefore the decision that you are going to take is certainly going to take more of time and bit more of money as well. If we have till now thought that this is the reason that despite bringing down corporate tax rate, there is not much speed with which the private sector is coming in (with investment), that will not have to be good any more. You will have to be SDG compliant, you will have to produce green goods and you will also have to make sure that the consumption of your inputs will have to be guided by green considerations. And transition to green fuel. This will all have to happen all at a time. Not any one of them will have to be postponed for tomorrow or day after,” Sitharaman said.

“These kind of challenges post Covid, post Ukraine, are not just for India in a broader sense. But it is a challenge for all of us and we really cannot allow to them marinate this challenge for too long. You have to get the product out, and the solution, which might not be the perfect solution but closer to the last mile of SDG,” Sitharaman said.