Industry leaders meet FM Nirmala Sitharaman\, demand Rs 1 lakh cr stimulus



Industry leaders meet FM Nirmala Sitharaman, demand Rs 1 lakh cr stimulus

Govt not to take punitive action for CSR violations, FM assures India Inc


Sanjiv Puri, Rishabh Premji and Balesh Sharma

(From left) ITC Chairman Sanjiv Puri, Wipro Executive Chairman Rishabh Premji, and Vodafone Chief Executive Officer Balesh Sharma during a meeting with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi on Thursday , PTI

The government will not take any punitive action in case of a violation of the latest Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) provisions, said two top industrialists, who among others met finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday to discuss steps to revive the economy.

“The government assured us that no punitive action will be taken against the corporates if the CSR norms are not met,” said Sajjan Jindal, chairman of JSW Group after the meeting.

The government recently amended the Companies Act, 2013, to add a new penal provision as per which the erring officials of the companies which fail to spend 2% of their profits on the CSR will face up to three years of imprisonment. Earlier, there was a provision of only fine of up to Rs 25 lakh.

THE WISHLIST
  • Liquidity flow from the banks into the economy  
  • Raising resources by monetising the land which is lying idle  
  • No penal provision like jail for violation of CSR norms

“The question was asked (from industry leaders) do you want to have this limit of CSR. Industry said yes, we should have it. Industry only said let's not have any penal provision like jails and all. There can be oversight of CSR money spent or not but there should not be any imprisonment,” Ajay Piramal, chairman of Piramal Group, said.

The industrialists also apprised the finance minister of the current economic situation and demanded a stimulus package of Rs 1 lakh crore to revive the slowing economy.

“Given the fiscal constraints, the government can raise resources by monetising the land lying idle. The land can be used for affordable housing and developing new projects,” said B K Goenka, Assocham president and Welspun Group chairman, as he sought a stimulus package of Rs 1 lakh crore from the finance minister.

The issues related to non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), liquidity, finance and steel sector were also discussed during the meeting.

“The main issues were that the liquidity in the system is tight. It is not that there is a lack of liquidity in the banks, but the lending is not taking place. Stress is there in the economy as far as NBFC sector is concerned and because of NBFC what is happening in the other sector, whether it is automobiles, home loans, and small and medium enterprises. .. I'm told there will be action soon,” said Piramal. He also said that the industry is hopeful the liquidity should flow from the banks into the economy soon. 

“The minister has categorically mentioned that there would be a process to see that the rate cut announced by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is passed on. Out of 110 basis points, only about 30 has been passed on to the industry. It will be seen that the entire cut is passed on,” said Jindal, adding that the government will soon take steps to revive the economy.

Among those who met the finance minister included industrialists Uday Kotak, Anand Mahindra, TV Narendran, Sangita Reddy, Dilip Shanghvi, Sandip Somani and Anil Khaitan.