New Delhi: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said that unabated inflation, unsustainable debt, disruption of supply chains, and lack of food security are among the top challenges where the industry and the government need to work together. She further said that the industry will have to realign its policies keeping in mind political and strategic decisions of the country and attempts should be made to restore global calm and normalcy.
Concerned the most with the rising inflation, Sitharaman also said that the inflation globally is a big challenge, it is contagious and the primary cause of inflation is disruptions. “The global priority for this decade should be to restore normalcy. They are the main cause for disruptions in supply chain, inflation and other global challenges,” the finance minister said, while addressing at the CII Global Economic Policy Forum 2024 here.
“We have to inbuilt in our decision-making not only economic sense but also political sense. No political risks should threaten the well -being of people. Supply chain lessons should tell us that the industry needed to realign not only from an economic sense. The economy has to ‘clawback’ more to regain its strength after the Covid pandemic and any skirmish or war will impact the supply chains and food value chains,” she said.
Sitharaman also urged the industry to ‘realign and reset’ itself based on the lessons learnt in the last decade. “The supply chains should be widespread lest geopolitical risks disrupt it. Economic and commercial considerations today will have to blend with the economy and its priorities with politics and strategic needs,” the finance minister said.
Stating that the benefits of economic success will be spread properly only through technology. India's digital public infrastructure (DPI) and open network for digital commerce and technology stack for agriculture have democratised access. “Farmers are now able to access the global markets due to the advantage of technology. I’m sure that ‘agri stack’ will be the next big thing you will hear coming out of India,” she added.
