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Deepak Parekh Signals India Inc's Impatience, Says PM Modi Has Had 'Lucky 9 Months'

A file photo of HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh.
A file photo of HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh.

HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh has signalled that Industry is getting impatient and wants results from the Narendra Modi government.

Prime Minister Modi, he said, has had a "lucky nine months" with the fall in oil prices, but there has been no change on ground and no improvement on ease of doing business.

"After nine months, there is a little bit of impatience creeping in as to why no changes are happening and why this is taking so long having effect on the ground," Mr Parekh, who is a leading industry voice, told PTI on Wednesday.

The dramatic fall in global oil prices resulted in a sharp fall in inflation and narrowed India's trade deficit to an 11-month low, easing the fiscal pressure on the government. But there has been no improvement in the country's investment climate, necessary to kick-start growth.

A lack of demand in the economy has weighed on corporate earnings; the country's largest companies have reported a fall in profits for the third straight quarter ending December, which means that companies have disappointed each quarter since PM Modi was elected in May last year.

Mr Parekh said the optimism about the Modi government is not translating into revenues and there has been little improvement on 'ease of doing business' front so far.

The World Bank had last year ranked India a poor 142nd out of 189 countries for ease of doing business. PM Modi has pledged to bring India to the top 50 soon.

In a pointed message to the government, Mr Parekh, 70, cited the example of delay faced by his own group's HDFC Bank with regard to approvals required for raising of funds. The mortgage lender had earlier this month raised Rs 10,000 crore to provide for an expected acceleration in Indian credit growth.

The lack of change in ground realities has been signaled by other industry leaders too. Earlier this month, R. Shankar Raman, CFO of L&T said, "India Inc, while it continues to be aspiring, is still on the wait and watch mode, waiting for these (government) policies to become sustainable businesses opportunities."

The veteran banker added that PM Modi's ambition "Make in India" initiative cannot succeed unless it is made easier for people to do business here and the decisions are fast-tracked.