Monday 20 June 2016

India Growth Story is 'intact' - Adil Zainulbhai, Ex-Chairman McKinsey India




“Indian Economy is once again on the growth trajectory with the growth rate in GDP is expected to move upwards steadily from around 7% currently to at least 8 – 9% in next few years” said Mr.Adil Zainulbhai while delivering the keynote address at the Kalyan Banerjee Leadership Lecture organized by Rotary Club of Bombay West on Saturday, 18th June, 2016 at Rotary Service Centre at Juhu Tara Road. Rtn. Kalyan Banerjee, Past Rotary International President himself was present as also Rtn. Subhash Kulkarni, District Governor of Rotary International District 3140. The Oration was attended by professionals, businessmen, Academics, students of management institutes and members of various Rotary Clubs in Mumbai.

Mr.Adil Zainulbhai is on the Boards of large corporations such as Reliance Industries, L&T, Cipla, etcas also on the Global Advisory Panel of Uber. He was the first name from the corporate world to be roped in by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help his Government as Chairman of Quality Council of India.  In this role, he is assisting the Government‘s plan of “Make in India” to boost manufacturing and has had the opportunity to work closely with several Central ministries and bureaucrats during the last 18 – 24 months.  According to him, a lot of good work is happening at the Central Government level with strategic decisions being taken to ensure development and improvement in quality of lives of 1.25 billion people of India.  He observed that the macro situation on fronts such as current account and fiscal deficits and inflation rate is good, moderate on exchange rate front but credit growth and NPAs are causing concern. He analysed that pain points of international investors related to retrospective legislation, FDI in sectors such as railways, defence, etc. have been addressed but insurance and retail direct investments have only been partially addressed.  He commented that the Government’s policies aim to fulfil India’s economic, social and geopolitical aspirations. He illustrated this point with a few aspects related to economy with direct benefit transfer through Jan Dhan and Aadhar, related to citizen services through Swachh Bharat and related to foreign policy through the PM’s visits and its impact on FDI and FII investments. The positive results of this work will take time to percolate down to the ground level, but he was optimistic that if we relentlessly work with the Government in its ambitious plans, we shall be able to overcome hurdles and achieve success.  To illustrate his point, he gave the example of Rotary’s fight against Polio – despite several impediments and stumbling blocks faced by the Rotarians the world over – Rotary never gave up.  And today, the world is very close to be declared Polio-free. His insightful oration was well appreciated by the audience.

The Kalyan Banerjee Leadership Lecture has been instituted by the Rotary Club of Bombay West in the year 2011-12 as a mark of appreciation for Rtn.Kalyan Banerjee who became only the third Indian to head Rotary International as its President, as a leader of 1.2 million Rotarians around the world.  In two weeks’ time, on the 1st of July, Rtn. Kalyan Banerjee will take over as the Trustee Chair of The Rotary Foundation. As Chair, he will have the privilege of leading the activities of The Rotary Foundation during its centennial year in 2017.

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