AT THE HELM
AT THE HELM - Sanjiv Puri, President, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)
- IBJ Bureau
- Jul 06, 2024
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In mid-May, ITC Chairman and Managing Director Sanjiv
Puri took over as president of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for
2024-25. Mr Puri, the head of India’s leading consumer goods company, is taking
charge of the country’s oldest industry association at a very crucial time.
India is the fastest-growing major economy in the
world. Yet, the country is battered by several pressing problems. The country’s
spectacular over 8 per cent expansion of the economy is unfortunately marred by
unequal growth, rampant joblessness, falling income and surging inflation. The
organised sector and a substantial portion of the population have been enjoying
the fruits of economic growth. But sadly, a larger section of Indians,
especially in rural areas, and the vast unorganised sector are in pain. The
government apart, trade bodies, like CII, will have to be in the forefront of
any solutions for the country’s prickly woes.
In a series of interviews to the media recently, Mr
Puri articulated his views as CII chief on urgent measures needed to correct
various imbalances in the economy. The Union government should maintain its
focus on public infrastructure, especially by allocating a significant portion
of capital expenditure (capex) for developing rural infrastructure. Continuous
focus and expenditure on rural housing, farm infrastructure, warehousing and other
physical infrastructure can spur much-needed rural consumption and recharge the
economy, noted 61-year-old Mr Puri.
Any views from CII and its chief are taken quite
seriously by the country and its policymakers. The trade body – set up a long
time ago in 1895 and now in its 130th year of operation – boasts of around
9,000 members from private as well as public sectors, including small and
medium enterprises and multinational companies. Besides, it has an indirect
membership of over 3,65,000 enterprises from 294 national and regional sectoral
industry bodies. So, it is not surprising if India listens to what CII has to
say.
CII has been playing a transformative role in
shaping the future of India. The trade body’s dedicated centres of excellence
and industry initiatives have been promoting competitiveness, innovation,
adoption of new technologies and sustainable growth. It will now have to double
up in partnership with the government, civil society and other trade and
industry associations to upskill a vast section of the country’s workforce and
provide meaningful and remunerative employment opportunities.
Incidentally, Mr Puri’s rich experience as the chairman
of over Rs 70,000-crore ITC puts him in a very favourable position to push
through CII’s initiatives successfully. An alumnus of IIT Kanpur and Wharton
School of Business in the US, Mr Puri has been associated with ITC since 1986. Mr
Puri and his team have been instrumental in spearheading the rapid growth of
the diverse conglomerate with business interests as varied as tobacco,
fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), agribusiness, hotels, paperboard and packaging
and information technology.
It would not be an
exaggeration to liken ITC to a mini-Indian economy, given the company’s
presence in so many diverse sectors. Mr Puri already has the blueprint that put
ITC on the fast track of growth. As CII chief, he will now have to expand this
blueprint on a much larger size and scale and partner with many other
stakeholders for a stronger, brighter and more equitable India.
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