Newly-appointed law minister Ashwini Kumar and Bajaj Auto chairman Rahul Bajaj on Wednesday got into a heated discussion on the growth of industry and the government’s role in it during the ongoing World Economic Forum.
Bajaj, one of the panelists at the session on ?Rebooting India?, said he is a proud Indian, who is very optimistic about the future. Bajaj said his company had grown despite the Centre’s role.
?I am a very proud Indian and I have a very positive and optimistic view where India will be inspite of all that is happening for the next 5, 10, 15 years. We decided many years ago that we will not do business where we have to deal with the government. We don’t manufacture and don’t buy things for the government. We are in motorcycles and the financial services,? he said, adding that despite having cash on its balance sheet, the company had deliberately stayed away from investing in power projects, coal mines and infrastructure.
His comments, however, did not go down well with Kumar, who asserted that Bajaj has made the highest levels of profits in the past several years.
?Yes, there are no perfect situations and no perfect solutions… but if we were doing everything which is wrong in terms of policy, how is it that Bajaj Auto is one of the most successful organisations in the last several years, recording the highest levels of profits,? Kumar asked.
The minister said the main source of income for Bajaj Auto today is financial management, which has been made possible by the vast accumulation of wealth from their businesses.
?How is it that despite some people suggesting things are going wrong with this country, the country has achieved about 8.2% growth?? Kumar asked.
“The assumptions that we are not getting used to high growth is wrong. We are discussing rebooting India’s economy at 5.5 % while the rest of the world is doing 3.2%. This shows that we have got accustomed to high growth and that is how it should be.?
Bajaj’s sentiment was echoed by Paul Bulcke, CEO, Nestl?, Switzerland, and a co-chair of WEF. ?India needs to redo. It needs to start doing things,? he said, attributing India?s current crisis to ?sheer gravity?.
?It is big and carries the weight of rich traditions and is pitted against a fast-moving world. India knows what needs to be done, it just needs to show more courage for transparency.”
