What's India's Biggest Growth Hurdle?
Wednesday, 22 February 2012, 22:10 IST   |    1 Comments
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Excessive bureaucratic
New Delhi: Excessive bureaucratic hurdles, inflation and political instability have emerged as the top concerns for the Indian businesses, while larger companies are more worried than their smaller peers about global issues, a survey has found. According to the survey conducted by workplace solutions provider Regus, almost half of the decisions makers at Indian businesses (47 per cent) fear that the red tape is a serious threat to growth in the country. However, the discontent over red-tapism is slightly less prevalent among larger companies, as greater resources are available with them to deal with paper work and regulation. The survey, conducted among 387 businesses, noted that 48 per cent of small companies and 52 per cent of medium-sized firms identify red tape as harmful. "This research shows that red tape and inflation are a real worry for India's vibrant businesses, and they want India's policymakers and bureaucrats to improve their performance," Regus Regional Vice-President (South Asia) Madhusudan Thakur said. Other major causes of disquiet among business community are inflation, political instability and the state of the global economy. Further threats to growth mentioned by business leaders include terrorism, corruption, and the lack of easily-available finance for small businesses. Besides, larger companies, with their more globalised activities, are more worried about the global economy than their smaller counterparts. "Businesses can counter such problems themselves, by looking for ways to manage their cost base, and for ways to spend more time on core business," Thakur said. "Whilst they may not be able to move the red tape mountain, they can minimise or outsource other non-aspects that consume management time, leaving them with more time to pursue growth," he added. "The evidence of the obstacles faced by businesses comes as growth is forecasted to slow to 6 per cent in 2012, with blame being put at the door of policymakers," he said.
Source: PTI