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The key to unlocking India’s long-term high growth potential is in initiating inclusive programmes that will enable “growth to grassroots” by driving food and agri, rural infrastructure, and such platforms for sustainable growth, and invigorate SME and broad-based infrastructure development.

Allocating higher expenditure for social sector along with private sector partnership to work towards sustainable income, ‘education-for-all’ and ‘health & medical services–for-all’ at affordable costs should receive priority.

It is imperative to raise the level of public investment in agriculture and in rural India with emphasis on strengthening and modernisation of marketing infrastructure, investment in agri-logistics among others. The Government impetus to agriculture will create broad based rural entrepreneurship, increase commercial viability and ensure sustainable development of Indian “agriculture” to “agribusiness”.

Priority should be given to removing bottlenecks that impede investment in infrastructure, especially in the power sector and roadways, wherein a stable policy framework is an essential prerequisite to attract private capital, both domestic and foreign. Clear guidelines should be prescribed not only for funding but also for monitoring of new and ongoing PPP projects.

In addition to the large, global Indian corporates, small scale sectors have huge untapped potential and present the next big opportunity. Developing these highly employment intensive sectors will need not only improved transportation and logistics infrastructure, but also skill enhancement and access to cheaper raw materials to enable them become increasingly competitive.

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