Govt taking steps, need better implementation

While the Narendra Modi government has taken some key steps in restarting the economy, through its 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' package, the results are yet to show completely on the ground, with banks still averse to lending to micro, medium and small enterprises, said participants at the Business Standard Smart Business Round Table, on June 12.

The speakers included Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament, Author and Columnist Swapan Dasgupta, Chairman of Indian Institute of Management Shillong and Industrialist Shishir Bajoria, and Advocate and Social Activist Narayan Jain.

The topic for the Round Table, held through video conference, was 'The Revival of Business and Industry after the setback in the Pandemic period' with a focus on Eastern India, and especially West Bengal.

Speaking at the event, Dasgupta and Bajoria said that while the state had an opportunity to employ the labour force which came back from other states due to the lockdown, that opportunity was hampered by the fact that successive governments had failed to boost jobs and industry in the states which could have used the labour.

Dasgupta said that contrary to perceptions, the state had land which can be utilized to develop new industry and that services and industry had to move beyond southern Bengal to districts in the north, while Bajoria said that eastern states will have to increase their share of GDP to ensure that their residents have the economic opportunities closer to home.

Bajoria and Jain also spoke about the disconnect between announcements by the centre and its implementation. Since a bulk of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's announcements were focused on liquidity, the burden on implementing them was on the banks. However, the participants and the audience said that banks were still unwilling to provide loans.