M A I N   N E W S

Re hits 61 mark; PM to meet India Inc
Sanjeev Sharma/TNS

On the agenda The July-29 meeting will discuss means to revive economy, falling rupee Identify measures to contain current account deficit, revive industrial growth and impact of week rupee on industry Cover ways to accelerate skill development and development of three industrial corridors

New Delhi, July 8
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet representatives of India Inc on July 29 in a bid to revive the economy as the rupee slid further today crossing the 61 mark. The rupee dipped to 61.21 during day’s trade before closing at 60.22 against the dollar. The stock markets also fell by 171 points.

In the backdrop of weak economic growth and falling rupee, the agenda for the Prime Minister’s interaction with industry covers urgent problems facing the economy.

A PMO statement said apart from a review of the economy, the discussion will include measures to contain the current account deficit, measures to revive industrial growth and the impact of depreciating rupee on trade and industry.

The July 29 meeting will also cover ways to accelerate skill development and the development of three industrial corridors - the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), Chennai-Bangalore Industrial Corridor (CBIC), and the Amritsar-Delhi-Kolkata Industrial Corridor (ADKIC).

The meeting comes at a time when concerns are mounting on the macro situation with high current account deficit, persistent weakness in the rupee and tepid growth.

The situation has been compounded by the fact there are signs of the US Federal Reserve pulling back its monetary easing, which in turn is leading to a pullout of funds by the FIIs from the debt and equity markets putting pressure on the rupee and the stock market.

With the general election less than a year away, the government is keen on taking effective steps to take the economy back on a high growth trajectory.

On the current account deficit, the government has been taking steps to curb the import of gold.

The Prime Minister had recently announced an ambitious investment target of Rs 1.15 lakh crore in public private partnership (PPP) projects across infrastructure sectors in rail, port and power in the next six months to boost investments.

The investment cycle is yet to accelerate and a survey by industry body Assocham suggests the proposed investment intentions made by domestic and foreign entrepreneurs have dried up by a whopping 75 per cent as of March 2013.

“India attracted 697 investment proposals through both domestic and foreign entrepreneurs to the tune of over Rs 1.4 lakh crore as of March 2013. But these investment intentions have declined from a significant level of 2,828 proposals worth around Rs 6 lakh crore during the corresponding period last year,” says a state-wise analysis of investment intentions of foreign and domestic sources during 2012-13.