Govt focusing on service sector, only 'lip service' to manufacturing: Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

Hyderabad: Upset with the complexity of conducting business in India, Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw showed her disappointment saying that the government’s interest is only ’lip service’ when it came to the manufacturing sector. “I have not seen any improvement in ease of doing business. It is as complex, and I think the policies are as ambiguous and there is no consistency. That’s all the government has to ensure,” the industrialist told PTI in an interview. She also stressed that jobs in manufacturing sector have to be supported in a big way. “Apart from saying Make in India, there is no policy supporting manufacturing jobs. Government is going on focusing on service sector and only paying lip service to manufacturing sector. The government should stop paying lip service to manufacturing and do something if they are serious about it,” Mazumdar-Shaw, who is also the Chairperson of the Board of Governors at IIM, Bangalore, said.  According to her, the corporate India should stop expecting more sops and incentives. [caption id=“attachment_2641258” align=“alignleft” width=“300”]  Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw. REUTERS[/caption] On her expectations from the upcoming Budget, the industrialist expressed that the government should focus on socio-economic development and increase investment on education, healthcare, jobs, low-cost housing and infrastructure areas. “Science and technology and research is another big area, government must invest more,” she said. “There are policies, which are taking place for socio-economic improvement. Government needs to be far more pragmatic about regulatory ease, that’s not happening. That’s not policy paralysis, its really about focusing on regulatory ease and on consistent policies,” Mazumdar-Shaw said. When asked whether the Narendra Modi-led government has delivered on its pre-election promises, she said, “Its not time for people to say whether they have delivered. Government needs to be introspective… have they actually moved to move the (economic) needle. Yes, there are a lot of macroeconomic factors and external factors but they have actually played to our (India’s) advantage. We should actually be seeing at least more job creation, more infrastructure projects taking off; there are some taking off, I must admit.” Mazumdar-Shaw added that some of those industrial corridors have taken off. “As long as infrastructure keeps happening in a big way, then we can say that yes the government is beginning to deliver on its promise,” she said. PTI