WEF Davos 2020: Anand Mahindra Says Indian Economy Undergoing ‘Detoxification’
What was underway for a while now has been the detoxification of the economy, says Anand Mahindra.
Anand Mahindra, chairman of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., said the Indian economy has been going through a ‘detoxification’ process.
“The prime minister has been quite obsessed about the kind of growth he wants: transparent, free of corruption and any rent-seeking,” Mahindra told Bloomberg TV on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Mahindra likened the India story to movie, and said that he remains confident that the recent slew of measures taken by the Narendra Modi government will lead to a “happy ending”.
The film is being produced. And I think it’s going to be a blockbuster.Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group
He said the Indian auto industry, which is facing its worst-ever slowdown, is showing some signs of life. “From the next fiscal year, I think India is going to surprise on the upside.”
WATCH | Anand Mahindra on India’s economy
Other highlights from what Anand had to say:
GST: ‘Enormous Adjustment’
GST, which all of us pushed for and we are very pleased it’s here, is making it impossible for people to work in a non-transparent manner, but it’s caused disruption, because people who were used to trading in cash and off the radar, now have to be on the radar. So there’s an enormous adjustment process underway.Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group
Modi Government In Propulsive Mode
The government has realised that in order to get the engine moving, they need to be far more propulsive if you will, and forget about the obsession with deficits for the moment. And they are taking the right steps now.Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group
CAA Is ‘Complete Inoffensive’
The amendment by itself completely inoffensive. If you look at it and as the government has been saying — you cannot argue with them on this — that the CAA amendment is about letting the minorities from some surrounding countries in as refuges. That has been a long-standing demand. Even in India people are confused about to make of this because the protest in the state of Assam had nothing to do with the protest elsewhere in the country. The Assamese were, in fact, against any kind of acceptance of new citizens because they were facing the influx of migrants for a long time. I think it has caused an insecurity which frankly — even though I am going to sound like an apologist for the government — is a little overdone.Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group