FICCI : Industry's Voice for Policy Change

Arvind Mediratta, a retail industry veteran with over three decades of experience, was awarded "The Most Promising Business Leader of Asia 2020" by The Economic Times at the recently held 5th edition of Asian Business Leaders Conclave 2020. Arvind has been instrumental in turning METRO’s business profitable in India, and expanding the business into newer geographies. Arvind is also the chairperson of FICCI’s committee on Retail and internal trade.

METRO has completed 17 years of operations in India and currently operates 28 wholesale distribution centers under the brand METRO Wholesale across 18 cities in India. The company has been helping the small and independent businesses, especially the traders and kiranas with technology, digital payment solutions, modernization of operations and improved business outcomes.

Indian Coperative | Nov 02, 2020

GCMMF's MD lauds Amul’s unique co-op model at FICCI event

The unique Amul model which empowers millions of farmers and which has yet to have a rival in terms of its seamless operation across villages, received a special mention at a FICCI webinar which was attended by Som Parkash, Minister of State for Commerce & Industry and Dr Krishnamurthy Subramanian, Chief Economic Adviser, GOI, among others.

Addressing the virtual session of ‘FICCI MASSMERIZE 2020’, Sodhi talked about the dairy sector in detail and claimed that Amul’s suppliers are its owners- a strong force of 3.6million farmers. Speaking at a Webinar of industry captains organized by FICCI, GCMMF Managing Director R S Sodhi said India is the only country in the world to unleash second generation reforms due to COVID-19. There are enough opportunities for creating ethical wealth in India, added Sodhi.

“COVID or no COVID, food is one sector that will never be impacted. The only thing that changed is the share of stomach; it became 100% home-cooked food. And because of this, the selection of ingredients and brands changed”, tweeted RS Sodhi giving excerpts of his speech at the function.

Inaugurating the two-day event Som Parkash, Minister of State said that the government is in the final stages to launch the new National Retail Trade Policy. “It is being formulated to support the development of the sector that will benefit 65 million small traders.”

Dr Krishnamurthy Subramanian, Chief Economic Adviser, Govt of India said that Atmanirbhar Bharat is all about self-reliance which is directly related to creating capabilities. “Self-reliance can never happen without adequate capabilities. Capabilities are built only by competing with the best,” he added.

Dr Subramanian said that with the reforms launched in the last few months, India is the only country that utilized the opportunity provided by the current crisis to unleash the second-generation reforms. “These reforms are focused on factor markets and not like other reforms which focused on product markets post 1991 era,” he added.

Devendra Chawla, Co-Chair, FICCI Retail and Internal Trade Committee & MD and CEO, Spencer’s Retail Limited and Nature’s Basket Ltd said that under the Atmanirbhar Bharat, an ecosystem is being formed for the manufacturing sector. Chetan Krishnaswamy, Vice President, Public Policy, Amazon also spoke on the occasion.

Adarsh Menon, Senior Vice President & Head, Flipkart Wholesale & Walmart India said the pandemic has brought to light the ability for digital companies to innovate. Sanjay Kumar, Partner – Public Policy and Tax, Deloitte India moderated the webinar.

Media News4u | Nov 02, 2020

Unconventional, agile, and tech-driven strategies to help ‘REBOOT’ the consumer industry: Deloitte-FICCI report

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP (DTTILLP) and FICCI launched the fourth edition of their joint report called REBOOT in the annual edition of Massmerize 2020. FICCI Massmerize is the flagship Retail and FMCG event by FICCI’s Consumer committee that works towards collaborating with industry leaders and stakeholders from these industries.

Built on a six-step approach, this report emphasises the need for consumer brands to R-E-B-O-O-T their businesses in view of the disruption and the changing consumer behaviour. As businesses need to ‘Realign’ their business models and partnerships, ‘Enhance’ consumer experience through technology and Analytics, ‘Build’ resilient distribution, develop their ‘Omni-channel’ presence, ‘Operate’ efficiently, and ‘Thrive’ by focusing on sustainability.

Speaking on the launch of the report, Rajat Wahi, Partner, Deloitte India, said, “while the pandemic brought massive disruptions across the value chain of the consumer sector, most companies adapted by building agile business models and innovative marketing strategies, along with expanding their presence through the online platforms to reach their consumers. The prolonged lockdowns have also dramatically transformed consumer buying behaviour while making them more health and socially conscious.

This has created new opportunities for businesses to develop hyper-local delivery models, use conversational AI, build omni-channel retail, etc. to acquire and serve customers.

As brands adapt to the ‘new normal’, the key to sustenance and growth is likely to be an agile business model that minimises disruptions in the future.”

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Dilip Chenoy, Secretary General, FICCI said, “‘India has emerged as one of the most attractive investment destinations with the increasing disposable income, rapid industrialization, and a shift in the demographic pattern. Amongst the significant contributors to this growth story have been the consumer-centric sectors, such as retail, FMCG, and e-commerce. India is one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies and has immense potential. Increased involvement and participation of businesses with the help of supportive policy measures will help capitalize on this potential and achieve the societal goals of inclusive growth and empowerment of the people.’’

Trends/lessons learnt from COVID-19

Acceleration in e-commerce sales as stay-home phenomena drove significant purchases through e-commerce.
Increased demand from rural: COVID-19 has led to massive reverse migration, which in turn has driven up rural demand, favouring companies with strong rural distribution
Focus on health, hygiene, and nutrition: Health concerns and the need to build immunity have led consumers to buy home sanitation and immunity boosting products. As a result, these categories have seen major growth since March ‘20 and this is likely to continue into 2021.
Reconfigure distribution to explore omni-channel models: The pandemic, with frequent lockdowns, compelled companies to re-configure their distribution models within a short period, even forging new partnerships and alliances to achieve that.

India Retailing | Nov 02, 2020

'Consumers adapted to post-COVID reality quickly in retail through digital, omnichannel'

Textile Value Chain | Nov 02, 2020

India in final stages of drafting National Logistic policy, New Industrial policy, an E- Commerce policy and National Retail Trade policy

India is in the ‘final stage of drafting’ a national logistics policy, a new industrial policy, an e-commerce policy and a national retail trade policy, according to minister of state for commerce and industry Som Parkash, who recently urged the industry to contribute towards making India self-reliant in every possible way and elevate the country’s image.

The minister was addressing the inaugural virtual session of ‘FICCI MASSMERIZE 2020’.

The department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) has always been in the forefront in ensuring that investments come in this sector, Parkash was quoted as saying by a press release from the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

The Economic Times | Oct 31, 2020

Indian industry should tap into country's competitive advantage: KV Subramanian, CEA

The most important theme of the Atmanirbhar Bharat scheme is to enable Indian industry to tap into the country’s competitive advantage of a large domestic market, said KV Subramanian, chief economic adviser (CEA) of India.

“By far the most important theme of Atmanirbhar Bharat is to enable India to tap into its comparative advantages, which is the large labour force that we have, to create demand by enhancing employment opportunities in both the primary and secondary sector,” Subramanian said during a virtual conference hosted by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry on Friday.

Another theme of Atmanirbhar Bharat is to nudge industry to focus on products that can be catered to lower income groups where margins are lower but volumes are much higher, he said.

The CEA also asked India Inc to set up factories in the hinterland to take advantage of the lower labour costs, considering the pandemic has removed certain restrictions on connectivity. “The Covid pandemic illustrates that factories can be set up possibly in the hinterlands...with these virtual meetings, the administrator can talk to the factory manager virtually,” said Subramanian. “The reason this should be done is because labour costs will be far lower. Even adjusted for skill, and that skill can be upgraded, labour costs will be lower, so the competitive advantage is even higher.”

Adgully | Oct 31, 2020

Atmanirbhar Bharat is not anathema to competition, it coexists with competition

Dr Krishnamurthy Subramanian, Chief Economic Adviser, Govt of India today said that Atmanirbhar Bharat is all about self-reliance which is directly related to creating capabilities. “Self-reliance can never happen without adequate capabilities. Capabilities are built only by competing with the best. The idea of Atmanirbhar Bharat is not anathema to competition, it coexists with competition,” he added.

Addressing ‘Policy Session- Realizing the Atmanirbhar Bharat Dream’, during the FICCI MASSMERIZE 2020, Dr Subramanian said that Atmanirbhar Bharat is about relying on the private sector enterprise along with the efficiency which they bring. “The reforms signal the intent of the government to rely on the markets. Reforms like IBC, Labour Codes, farm bills require a strong political will to see that the big benefits benefit the majority class. It is also signal from the government to do what is economically right and beneficial in the long run for the country,” he said.

Dr Subramanian said that with the reforms launched in the last few months, India is the only country that utilized the opportunity provided by the current crisis to unleash to the second-generation reforms.

“These reforms are focused on factor markets and not like other reforms which focused on product markets post 1991 era,” he added.

He said that it is imperative for India to tap into its comparative advantages including the large market and large labour force to create demand and create employment opportunities in both the primary and the secondary sector. “Tertiary sector has done very well so far, but primary and secondary sector are important for employment generation,” Dr Subramanian added.

Explaining further the benefit of Atmanirbhar Bharat, he said that we must focus on the volume model under which the products and services are designed to cater to a larger section of the society. “With small margin and catering to a large scale is the comparative advantage that India provides under the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision. This opportunity has not been tapped to its fullest except by FMCG and micro finance industry. Industry must tap this potential by creating products and services to play this volume game,” noted Dr Subramanian.

He further said that there are enough opportunities for ethical wealth creation to be done in India. “The government has made reforms like labour codes and in agri sector. India Inc now needs to respond,” Dr Subramanian said.

Mr Devendra Chawla, Co-Chair, FICCI Retail and Internal Trade Committee & MD and CEO, Spencer’s Retail Limited and Nature’s Basket Ltd said that under the Atmanirbhar Bharat, an eco-system is being formed for the manufacturing sector. It is important for India to have a strong manufacturing base in order to increase the exports from the country. We need to focus on becoming a value-added manufacturing economy with high skill sets, he emphasized.

Mr Chetan Krishnaswamy, Vice President, Public Policy, Amazon said that Atmanirbharta is multi-dimensional and the recent reforms announced by the government will help the industry in the long-term. For e-commerce sector to grow further, there is a need for the industry to take note of the animal spirit that exits in rural India and hinterlands and tap the potential, he added.

Mr Adarsh Menon, Senior Vice President & Head, Flipkart Wholesale & Walmart India said the pandemic has brought to light the ability for digital companies to innovate. MSMEs play an important role in the economy and technology along with other digital tools will help them tap the domestic and global supply chains, he said.

Mr Sanjay Kumar, Partner – Public Policy and Tax, Deloitte India moderated the webinar.

United News of India | Oct 31, 2020

Industries be built in remote areas: CEA

KNN | Oct 31, 2020

Industry needs to play volume game: CEA

Chief Economic Adviser, Dr Krishnamurthy Subramanian has said that Atmanirbhar Bharat is all about self-reliance which is directly related to creating capabilities.

Addressing 'Policy Session- Realizing the Atmanirbhar Bharat Dream', during the FICCI MASSMERIZE 2020, on Friday, Dr Subramanian said that Atmanirbhar Bharat is about relying on the private sector enterprise along with the efficiency which they bring.

"Self-reliance can never happen without adequate capabilities. Capabilities are built only by competing with the best. The idea of Atmanirbhar Bharat is not anathema to competition, it coexists with competition," he added.

He further said that the reforms signal the intent of the government to rely on the markets. Reforms like IBC, Labour Codes, and farm bills require a strong political will to see that the big benefits benefit the majority class.

''It is also a signal from the government to do what is economically right and beneficial in the long run for the country," he said.

Dr Subramanian said that with the reforms launched in the last few months, India is the only country that utilized the opportunity provided by the current crisis to unleash the second-generation reforms.

"These reforms are focused on factor markets and not like other reforms which focused on product markets post 1991 era," he added.

He said that it is imperative for India to tap into its comparative advantages including the large market and large labour force to create demand and create employment opportunities in both the primary and the secondary sector.

"Tertiary sector has done very well so far, but the primary and secondary sector are important for employment generation," Dr Subramanian added.

Explaining further the benefit of Atmanirbhar Bharat, he said that we must focus on the volume model under which the products and services are designed to cater to a larger section of the society.

"With small margin and catering to a large scale is the comparative advantage that India provides under the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision. This opportunity has not been tapped to its fullest except by FMCG and the micro finance industry. Industry must tap this potential by creating products and services to play this volume game," noted Dr Subramanian.

He said that there are enough opportunities for ethical wealth creation to be done in India adding "the government has made reforms like labour codes and in the agri sector. India Inc now needs to respond.

Fibre 2 Fashion | Oct 31, 2020

Consumer brands should REBOOT businesses: FICCI-Deloitte

Consumer brands should ‘REBOOT’ their businesses in view of the pandemic-induced disruption and changing consumer behavior, according to the fourth edition of a report called REBOOT jointly launched by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP (DTTILLP) recently in the annual edition of MASSMERIZE event.

MASSMERIZE is FICCI's flagship annual retail, e-commerce and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) conference by its consumer committee.

Built on a six-step approach, the report calls for the REBOOT strategy as businesses need to 'Realign' their business models and partnerships, ‘Enhance’ consumer experience through technology and analytics, 'Build' resilient distribution, develop their 'Omni-channel' presence, 'Operate' efficiently, and 'Thrive' by focusing on sustainability, said a FICCI press release.

“Increased involvement and participation of businesses with the help of supportive policy measures will help capitalise on this potential and achieve the societal goals of inclusive growth and empowerment of the people,” said FICCI Secretary General Dilip Chenoy.

The pandemic accelerated e-commerce sales as stay-home phenomena drove significant purchases through e-commerce. It has also led to massive reverse migration, which in turn has driven up rural demand, favouring companies with strong rural distribution.

Eminetra | Oct 31, 2020

Consumer brands need to restart their business: FICCI-Deloitte

According to the fourth edition of a report called REBOOT, jointly published by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce (FICCI) and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, consumer brands are “taking into account the turmoil and changes in consumer behavior caused by pandemics. Must Reboot India LLP (DTTILLP) recently appeared in the annual edition of the MASSMERIZE event.

MASSMERIZE is FICCI’s leading annual retail, e-commerce and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) conference by the Consumer Commission.

The report is built on a six-step approach, where companies “realign” their business models and partnerships, “strengthen” the consumer experience through technology and analytics, and “build” resilient distribution. And we need to develop an “omni-channel”, so we are looking for a REBOOT strategy. According to a FICCI press release, “presence,” “efficient operation,” and “prosperity” with a focus on sustainability.

“Increasing corporate involvement and participation with the help of supportive policy measures will help us to harness this potential and achieve the social goals of inclusive growth and empowerment of people,” FICCI said. Secretary General Dilip Chenoy said.

Pandemics accelerated e-commerce sales as the curfew encouraged bulk purchases through e-commerce. It also resulted in large-scale reverse migration, which in turn boosted local demand and favored companies with strong local distribution.

According to the fourth edition of a report called REBOOT, jointly published by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Deloitte Touche Tomatindia LLP, consumer brands have “rebooted” their businesses in light of the turmoil and changes in consumer behavior caused by pandemics. “need to do it. In the annual version of the MASSMERIZE event.

Apparel Resources | Oct 31, 2020

Unconventional, agile and tech-driven strategies to help REBOOT consumer market: Report

FICCI and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India recently launched the fourth edition of their joint report called REBOOT.

The report reveals the need for the consumer brands to R.E.B.O.O.T their businesses due to the current situation of pandemic, which has led to the changing consumer behaviour.

It further states that the retailers need to realign their business models and partnership, use technology and analytics to enhance consumer experience, build resilient distribution, develop omnichannel presence, increase focus on sustainability and operate efficiently.

The report also jots down six key impacts of pandemic on consumer market including acceleration in e-commerce, increase in demand from rural markets, increased focus on health, hygiene and nutrition, focus on omnichannel models, adopting phygital approach and increased focused on sustainability.

Rajat Wahi, Partner, Deloitte India, mentions that retailers in order to survive the massive disruption caused by pandemic have adapted by building agile business models and innovative marketing strategies along with increasing their digital presence to reach out to the customers.

Also, the prolonged lockdown was a major reason behind the transformed consumer buying behaviour and increased health and hygiene concerns, he further added.

This shift in the consumer buying behaviour has opened new opportunities for businesses to develop hyper-local delivery models, use conversational artificial intelligence (AI) and build omnichannel retail to acquire and serve customers.

Dilip Chenoy, Secretary General, FICCI, mentions that India is one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies and has immense potential. “Increased involvement and participation of businesses with the help of supportive policy measures will help capitalise on this potential and achieve the societal goals of inclusive growth and empowerment of the people.”

Plunge Daily | Oct 31, 2020

E-commerce channels prompt FMCG companies to launch digital only brands

FMCG companies are eyeing e-commerce channels and have also begun to launch their digital only brands. They have also boosting their online presence as digital purchases has accelerated significant during the pandemic.

RS Sodhi, Managing Director of Amul, during a panel discussion at a FICCI event pointed out that in the past six months, e-commerce has multiplied by nearly two to three times for the sector. He said online retail was earlier contributing only three per cent to the market, and just within six months, it is contributing seven to eight per cent. Pawan Agrawal, CFO Marico Ltd, said online sales for the company grew by about 40 per cent in the first half of the current fiscal year, and the e-commerce channel contributed eight per cent to the total turnover in the second quarter of the current financial year.

Companies are stepping up in terms of direct-to-consumer channels. Most notedly, Dabur India has come up with several new products, such as apple cider vinegar, new products in the Dabur Baby Range and Dabur cold-pressed mustard oil, exclusively for the online market. Adarsh Sharma, executive director sales Dabur India Ltd, said that in that post-COVID world, online retail has emerged as the most preferred contactless method of making purchases. He said this trend is likely to stay. “We have seen our online business more than doubling and had a saliency of over six per cent in Q1 2020-21 compared to 1.5 per cent in Q1 of 2019-20. We expect the saliency to remain around five to six per cent this year.”

The sudden surge in consumer demand for online retail services could be due to the implementation of social distancing norms and lockdown measures countries have taken to contain the pandemic, these new norms are finding increasing acceptance amongst consumers and adoption by traditional businesses. Ankur Pahwa, an advisor at EY India E-commerce and Consumer Internet Leader, Transactions Diligence Partner, had earlier said that segments such as on-demand delivery services related to fresh produce, online education, social engagement platforms from gaming to OTT platforms, online collaborative tools, e-pharmacies, online consultations are a few areas that may have witnessed triple digit growth. He said companies in the mentioned segments have witnessed triple digit growth, with millions of new consumers onboarding their platform in the last couple of months to cope in dealing with the health crisis.

Moneycafe | Oct 31, 2020

Consumers adapted to post-Covid reality in retail via e-commerce: Industry

Techno Codex | Oct 31, 2020

Indian industry should tap into country’s competitive advantage: KV Subramanian, CEA

The most important theme of the Atmanirbhar Bharat scheme is to enable Indian industry to tap into the country’s competitive advantage of a large domestic market, said KV Subramanian, chief economic adviser (CEA) of India.

“By far the most important theme of Atmanirbhar Bharat is to enable India to tap into its comparative advantages, which is the large labour force that we have, to create demand by enhancing employment opportunities in both the primary and secondary sector,” Subramanian said during a virtual conference hosted by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry on Friday.

Another theme of Atmanirbhar Bharat is to nudge industry to focus on products that can be catered to lower income groups where margins are lower but volumes are much higher, he said.

The CEA also asked India Inc to set up factories in the hinterland to take advantage of the lower labour costs, considering the pandemic has removed certain restrictions on connectivity. “The Covid pandemic illustrates that factories can be set up possibly in the hinterlands…with these virtual meetings, the administrator can talk to the factory manager virtually,” said Subramanian. “The reason this should be done is because labour costs will be far lower. Even adjusted for skill, and that skill can be upgraded, labour costs will be lower, so the competitive advantage is even higher.”

While News | Oct 30, 2020

CEA Krishnamurthy Subramanian cautions NBFCs on ‘zombie lending’

After a sequence of NBFC collapses, the federal government on Thursday cautioned in opposition to “zombie lending”, advising them to comply with prudential measures to make sure that dangers don’t mount “Whereas regulators are mandated to watch these items, at a person degree, NBFCs want to watch its rollover danger and interconnected danger as properly, as a result of in occasions like these, prudential measures should be taken by every NBFC to make sure that dangers don’t mount,” chief financial adviser Krishnamurthy Subramanian stated at a Ficci convention. He additionally cautioned in opposition to rollover danger or the asset legal responsibility mismatch and interconnected danger.

India has been stricken by the collapse of NBFCs equivalent to IL&FS and DHFL, which lent with out correct safety and hid dangerous debt on books, prompting the federal government and the RBI to step in to stop systemic dangers.

“Forbearance is important at this level of time however the earlier episode of 2008-09 illustrates very properly the form of zombie lending that continued… evergreening occurred that mainly got here again to actually chew three-four years later,” Subramanian stated.

Business World | Oct 30, 2020

Use of technology in retail going to stay, say industry captains

Adoption of digital technology by retailers and consumers has been accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic and is going to stay, industry leaders said on Thursday.

The use of technology has changed the way consumers shop and it is now playing an expanded role across sectors, industry leaders said in a panel discussion.

De Beers India Managing Director Sachin Jain said an average consumer coming into the outlet today, has gone through the product digitally at least seven to eight times whether transacting or not is a different issue.

“That narrative is going to be permanent,” he said adding, “I also foresee that the whole augmented area and artificial intelligence and visualisation of the product at home is going to increase.” According to him, this shift in technology has to be incorporated into physical stores as well and omni channel is the way forward for the retail.

Pepperfry Founder & CEO Ambareesh Murty said that there is a fundamental change in consumer behaviour as he is looking convince from buying from home.

“It is going to stay and not going anywhere as once the consumer sees the benefit to it, there is no reason to go back and retract from that path,” said Murty while participating in a virtual panel discussion at a FICCI event here.

While Zydus Wellness CEO Tarun Arora said consumer’s “focus on health and wellness would be rather permanent now.” 'The information-seeking behaviour would remain, that part change would be there,' he said.

The trust factor has become more important and people now read the pack and remain focused on buying certain kind of products.

People have become more “experiential, information seeking,” he said. 'People have realised that immunity is not through booster shots but it is through what you eat. Food has become far more evolved overnight. You want food that works,” he added.

Amul Managing Director R S Sodhi said after the pandemic e-commerce has multiplied three times, though modern trade has suffered.

The consumer in food has shifted more on loose and unbranded to packed and branded product. People have also shifted towards a more trustworthy brand and also on the affordable brand because the earning has also been impacted.

While in smaller cities people have shifted to smaller packs but branded packs.

“In the bigger cities, sales of bigger packs increased as the frequency of sales dropped,” he said.

Money Control | Oct 30, 2020

India Inc needs to respond to various reform measures of govt: CEA K V Subramanian

India Inc needs to respond to various reform measures, including in the labour sector, undertaken by the government to accelerate the growth impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Chief Economic Adviser K V Subramanian said on Friday.

He emphasised that India is the only country which utilised the opportunity provided by the current crisis to unleash the second generation reforms that are focused on factor markets.

"If you look at the reforms that have happened since 1991, most of those reforms were primarily focused on product markets, including the reforms that were launched by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government as well. But now when you look at the reforms that have been launched together with some of the previous ones, like IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code), (they are) basically an attempt to reform the capital,” he said.

IBC is followed by labour reforms, he said, adding that cost of labour is an important factor of production. Agriculture, which is another important factor, is part of the primary sector, the CEA noted.

"So, when you take these into account, there is a very important theme of Aatmanirbhar Bharat which is primarily about relying on the private sector enterprise and on the efficiency that private sector brings,” he said at an event organised by FICCI.

Subramanian said these reforms signal that the intent of this government is to rely on markets and that efficiency is primarily brought in by the private sector.

"Now India Inc actually needs to respond. We have enabled labour laws reforms etc…There are enough and more opportunities for ethical wealth creation to be done in Indian context…this is something that I would like widespread in India Inc,” he said.

Observing that the idea of Aatmanirbhar Bharat is not anathema to competition, he said self-reliance can never happen without adequate capabilities.

Capabilities are never built in a vacuum but they are built only by competing with the best, he added.

Devdiscourse | Oct 30, 2020

India Inc needs to respond to various reform measures of govt: CEA

India Inc needs to respond to various reform measures, including in the labour sector, undertaken by the government to accelerate the growth impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Chief Economic Adviser K V Subramanian said on Friday. He emphasised that India is the only country which utilised the opportunity provided by the current crisis to unleash the second generation reforms that are focused on factor markets.

"If you look at the reforms that have happened since 1991, most of those reforms were primarily focused on product markets, including the reforms that were launched by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government as well. But now when you look at the reforms that have been launched together with some of the previous ones, like IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code), (they are) basically an attempt to reform the capital," he said. IBC is followed by labour reforms, he said, adding that cost of labour is an important factor of production. Agriculture, which is another important factor, is part of the primary sector, the CEA noted. "So, when you take these into account, there is a very important theme of Aatmanirbhar Bharat which is primarily about relying on the private sector enterprise and on the efficiency that private sector brings," he said at an event organised by FICCI. Subramanian said these reforms signal that the intent of this government is to rely on markets and that efficiency is primarily brought in by the private sector. "Now India Inc actually needs to respond. We have enabled labour laws reforms etc...There are enough and more opportunities for ethical wealth creation to be done in Indian context...this is something that I would like widespread in India Inc," he said. Observing that the idea of Aatmanirbhar Bharat is not anathema to competition, he said self-reliance can never happen without adequate capabilities.

Capabilities are never built in a vacuum but they are built only by competing with the best, he added.

Latest LY | Oct 30, 2020

India Inc needs to respond to various reform measures of govt: CEA

India Inc needs to respond to various reform measures, including in the labour sector, undertaken by the government to accelerate the growth impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Chief Economic Adviser K V Subramanian said on Friday.

He emphasised that India is the only country which utilised the opportunity provided by the current crisis to unleash the second generation reforms that are focused on factor markets.

"If you look at the reforms that have happened since 1991, most of those reforms were primarily focused on product markets, including the reforms that were launched by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government as well. But now when you look at the reforms that have been launched together with some of the previous ones, like IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code), (they are) basically an attempt to reform the capital," he said.

IBC is followed by labour reforms, he said, adding that cost of labour is an important factor of production. Agriculture, which is another important factor, is part of the primary sector, the CEA noted.

"So, when you take these into account, there is a very important theme of Aatmanirbhar Bharat which is primarily about relying on the private sector enterprise and on the efficiency that private sector brings," he said at an event organised by FICCI.

Subramanian said these reforms signal that the intent of this government is to rely on markets and that efficiency is primarily brought in by the private sector.

"Now India Inc actually needs to respond. We have enabled labour laws reforms etc...There are enough and more opportunities for ethical wealth creation to be done in Indian context...this is something that I would like widespread in India Inc," he said.

Observing that the idea of Aatmanirbhar Bharat is not anathema to competition, he said self-reliance can never happen without adequate capabilities.

Capabilities are never built in a vacuum but they are built only by competing with the best, he added.

Indian Patrika | Oct 30, 2020

India Inc needs to respond to various reform measures of govt: CEA K V Subramanian

India Inc needs to respond to various reform measures, including in the labour sector, undertaken by the government to accelerate the growth impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Chief Economic Adviser K V Subramanian said on Friday.

He emphasised that India is the only country which utilised the opportunity provided by the current crisis to unleash the second generation reforms that are focused on factor markets.

“If you look at the reforms that have happened since 1991, most of those reforms were primarily focused on product markets, including the reforms that were launched by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government as well. But now when you look at the reforms that have been launched together with some of the previous ones, like IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code), (they are) basically an attempt to reform the capital,” he said.

IBC is followed by labour reforms, he said, adding that cost of labour is an important factor of production. Agriculture, which is another important factor, is part of the primary sector, the CEA noted.

“So, when you take these into account, there is a very important theme of Aatmanirbhar Bharat which is primarily about relying on the private sector enterprise and on the efficiency that private sector brings,” he said at an event organised by FICCI.

Subramanian said these reforms signal that the intent of this government is to rely on markets and that efficiency is primarily brought in by the private sector.

“Now India Inc actually needs to respond. We have enabled labour laws reforms etc…There are enough and more opportunities for ethical wealth creation to be done in Indian context…this is something that I would like widespread in India Inc,” he said.

Observing that the idea of Aatmanirbhar Bharat is not anathema to competition, he said self-reliance can never happen without adequate capabilities.

Capabilities are never built in a vacuum but they are built only by competing with the best, he added.

Orissa Diary | Oct 30, 2020

Concept of Atmanirbhar Bharat is not anathema to competition, it coexists with competition: Dr Krishnamurthy Subramanian Chief Economic Adviser

Dr Krishnamurthy Subramanian, Chief Economic Adviser, Govt of India today said that Atmanirbhar Bharat is all about self-reliance which is directly related to creating capabilities. “Self-reliance can never happen without adequate capabilities. Capabilities are built only by competing with the best. The idea of Atmanirbhar Bharat is not anathema to competition, it coexists with competition,” he added.

Addressing ‘Policy Session- Realizing the Atmanirbhar Bharat Dream’, during the FICCI MASSMERIZE 2020, Dr Subramanian said that Atmanirbhar Bharat is about relying on the private sector enterprise along with the efficiency which they bring. “The reforms signal the intent of the government to rely on the markets. Reforms like IBC, Labour Codes, farm bills require a strong political will to see that the big benefits benefit the majority class. It is also signal from the government to do what is economically right and beneficial in the long run for the country,” he said.

Dr Subramanian said that with the reforms launched in the last few months, India is the only country that utilized the opportunity provided by the current crisis to unleash to the second-generation reforms. “These reforms are focused on factor markets and not like other reforms which focused on product markets post 1991 era,” he added.

He said that it is imperative for India to tap into its comparative advantages including the large market and large labour force to create demand and create employment opportunities in both the primary and the secondary sector. “Tertiary sector has done very well so far, but primary and secondary sector are important for employment generation,” Dr Subramanian added.

Explaining further the benefit of Atmanirbhar Bharat, he said that we must focus on the volume model under which the products and services are designed to cater to a larger section of the society. “With small margin and catering to a large scale is the comparative advantage that India provides under the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision. This opportunity has not been tapped to its fullest except by FMCG and micro finance industry. Industry must tap this potential by creating products and services to play this volume game,” noted Dr Subramanian.

He further said that there are enough opportunities for ethical wealth creation to be done in India. “The government has made reforms like labour codes and in agri sector. India Inc now needs to respond,” Dr Subramanian said.

Mr Devendra Chawla, Co-Chair, FICCI Retail and Internal Trade Committee & MD and CEO, Spencer’s Retail Limited and Nature’s Basket Ltd said that under the Atmanirbhar Bharat, an eco-system is being formed for the manufacturing sector. It is important for India to have a strong manufacturing base in order to increase the exports from the country. We need to focus on becoming a value-added manufacturing economy with high skill sets, he emphasized.

Mr Chetan Krishnaswamy, Vice President, Public Policy, Amazon said that Atmanirbharta is multi-dimensional and the recent reforms announced by the government will help the industry in the long-term. For e-commerce sector to grow further, there is a need for the industry to take note of the animal spirit that exits in rural India and hinterlands and tap the potential, he added.

Mr Adarsh Menon, Senior Vice President & Head, Flipkart Wholesale & Walmart India said the pandemic has brought to light the ability for digital companies to innovate. MSMEs play an important role in the economy and technology along with other digital tools will help them tap the domestic and global supply chains, he said.

Mr Sanjay Kumar, Partner – Public Policy and Tax, Deloitte India moderated the webinar.

Media Brief | Oct 30, 2020

Deloitte, FICCI unveils fourth edition of joint report ‘REBOOT’ at Massmerize 2020

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP (DTTILLP) and FICCI launched the fourth edition of their joint report called REBOOT in the annual edition of Massmerize 2020. FICCI Massmerize is the flagship Retail and FMCG event by FICCI’s Consumer committee that works towards collaborating with industry leaders and stakeholders from these industries.

Built on a six-step approach, this report emphasises the need for consumer brands to R-E-B-O-O-T their businesses in view of the disruption and the changing consumer behaviour. As businesses need to ‘Realign’ their business models and partnerships, ‘Enhance’ consumer experience through technology and Analytics, ‘Build’ resilient distribution, develop their ‘Omni-channel’ presence, ‘Operate’ efficiently, and ‘Thrive’ by focusing on sustainability.

Rajat Wahi, Partner, Deloitte India, said, “while the pandemic brought massive disruptions across the value chain of the consumer sector, most companies adapted by building agile business models and innovative marketing strategies, along with expanding their presence through the online platforms to reach their consumers. The prolonged lockdowns have also dramatically transformed consumer buying behaviour while making them more health and socially conscious.

This has created new opportunities for businesses to develop hyper-local delivery models, use conversational AI, build omni-channel retail, etc. to acquire and serve customers.

As brands adapt to the ‘new normal’, the key to sustenance and growth is likely to be an agile business model that minimises disruptions in the future.”

Dilip Chenoy, Secretary General, FICCI, said, “‘India has emerged as one of the most attractive investment destinations with the increasing disposable income, rapid industrialization, and a shift in the demographic pattern. Amongst the significant contributors to this growth story have been the consumer-centric sectors, such as retail, FMCG, and e-commerce.

“India is one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies and has immense potential. Increased involvement and participation of businesses with the help of supportive policy measures will help capitalize on this potential and achieve the societal goals of inclusive growth and empowerment of the people,” Chenoy added.

Trends/lessons learnt from COVID-19

Acceleration in e-commerce sales as stay-home phenomena drove significant purchases through e-commerce.
Increased demand from rural: COVID-19 has led to massive reverse migration, which in turn has driven up rural demand, favouring companies with strong rural distribution
Focus on health, hygiene, and nutrition: Health concerns and the need to build immunity have led consumers to buy home sanitation and immunity boosting products. As a result, these categories have seen major growth since March ‘20 and this is likely to continue into 2021.
Reconfigure distribution to explore omni-channel models: The pandemic, with frequent lockdowns, compelled companies to re-configure their distribution models within a short period, even forging new partnerships and alliances to achieve that.
Existence through phygital approach: As digital-savvy consumers look for a mix of digital and physical engagements, it has led to retailers building an omni-channel presence to provide best-in-class customer experience.
The COVID-19 crisis has put sustainability in the spotlight and companies are now seeing sustainability through the lens of growth as well as bottom line, and using their sustainability initiatives to better engage with their customers.

Outlook | Oct 30, 2020