Uncertainties will persist but bullish about 2020, says India Inc

Corporate leaders at India’s top companies are bullish about 2020 even as they are expecting uncertainties to continue. “We are bullish about the prospects for not just Vedanta but also the Indian economy in 2020. A lot of work in terms of structural reforms that has happened in 2019 by our Govt will start to bear fruit as we move ahead in the New Year and we see India’s GDP growth picking up pace,” Anil Agarwal, Chairman, Vedanta Group said in a statement.

Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons, said in a message to the group employees, "Macro uncertainties will persist in 2020, but they will also be accompanied by new opportunities across different businesses and markets.

Vedanta’s Agarwal said he was expecting the government to open more coal blocks for commercial mining. “We plan to start work on the two coal blocks of Jamkhani and Chotia that we have won through auctions, aggressively bid in forthcoming rounds of auctions for both bauxite and iron ore and possibly bid for BPCL, basis our evaluation,”he said.

“ We are of the view that the measures to open India’s mining sector will significantly raise its share in GDP from the current 3 per cent, thereby boosting overall economic activity. We have always maintained that given India’s diverse topography and rich mineral resources, share of mining to GDP can easily rise to 10 per cent from the current levels that will also rein in imports for number of metals and minerals,” Agarwal added.

Spelling out the roadmap for Tata Group, Chandrasekaran said, “Our group-level performance is steadily improving, but there is more work to do in some companies — in part due to the economic environment these companies are facing. Overall, we are moving together decisively towards a position of financial fitness”

"With all of the heavy lifting we have done over the past few years, I am confident that we are now well-positioned to build on the Tata Group's unique legacy to steer the 21st century towards a more sustainable, connected, inclusive and efficient future," he added.