As campaigning picks up for the Lok Sabha elections, the newly elected President of industry body CII, Venu Srinivasan, has said he will promote a transparent way of donations to political parties by business houses.
"Companies should do it (election funding) transparently. If it becomes transparent it is good for the polity, good for society," Srinivasan told PTI. He said the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has been promoting the idea of transparency in political donations.
In any case, he said, it has become difficult for business houses to deal only in cash. "Companies have shifted from cash payments to cheques...the cash (transactions) have been reduced in the economy considerably since liberalisation... it has become difficult to deal with cash," he said.
The government monitoring through different taxes like Banking Cash Transaction Tax is also a deterrent to the cash economy, Srinivasan, who is also Chairman of Chennai-based TVS Motor Company Ltd, said.
The CII chief said the chamber would like its members to ensure that the money given away to political parties is properly accounted for in their books. Some of the country's well-respected industrial houses have already taken lead in giving political donations through cheques.
On the state of the economy, he said while the growth has slowed down, the GDP trends still remain in the positive zone. However, he remained cautious about fiscal 2009-10 that began today. "(The) growth in the next year may not meet our aspirations, but I look at the world with cautious optimism," he said.
Srinivasan said the first-half of the fiscal is likely to be poorer because of the high growth in the comparative period the previous year. However, the economy is expected to pick up in the second-half of the financial year 2009-10.
"We have already digested the recession...We are still growing," he said. While the big picture remains positive, sectors like manufacturing, exports, handicrafts, textile, gems and jewellery remain areas of concern.
After growing by a robust 30 per cent till September, exports have been shrinking in the second half. The government estimates do not project the annualised shipments to grow beyond 3-4 per cent. Srinivasan, who is from the automobile industry, said it is early days to see a recovery in the sector. The commercial vehicles segment is still reeling under recessionary trends.
