23 June 2010 | By: Mohamed Hairul Borhan

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) will be pushing for a slew of manufacturing-sector policies in the southern states in order to generate more income for the country. Among the policies include simplifying clearances and approval mechanisms, encouraging green manufacturing, fast-tracking infrastructure development and putting in place enabling flexible labour rules.

S Gopalakrishnan, chairman for CII Southern Region, told reporters that the four southern states' real GDP have risen 9.2 per cent per annum during 2005-09, outpacing the national average of 8.5 per cent during the same period. He said every additional one per cent growth in manufacturing creates 20-30 million new jobs.

In addition, he said that the CII will focus on infrastructure development this year, and has plans to indentify key infrastructure projects in the region and fast-track them.

The organization will also speak with the respective state governments about the need for a policy framework for speedy implementation of infrastructure projects, technology upgrade for faster project completion, the setting up of an effective dispute settlement mechanism and provisions for contingency funding.

In the power sector, the CII will push for more reforms to create more scope for private-sector participation, especially in generation and distribution, power purchases from captive power plants and a policy to benchmark tariff across the country for uniformity. 

Courtesy of IBEF