Shobana Kamineni pitches for manufacturing reforms, ease of doing business

Mumbai, Sep 16 (PTI) Businessperson Shobana Kamineni on Tuesday pitched for improving ease of doing business, saying India offers "great opportunities" from a long-term perspective.

Speaking at an event organised by WhatsApp here, the healthcare-focused Apollo Group leader called for reforms on the manufacturing side to make it easier for any company to do business.

The "terrible tariffs" imposed by the US have induced uncertainties and must be utilised for "introspection" on the ways to do things better, said Kamineni, who also served as the president of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

“We must use this time for introspection, to make ease of doing business seriously a lot easier for manufacturing," the executive chairperson of Apollo Health Co and Apollo Pharmacies said.

"We just finished our national council (meeting) of business leaders across India, and it is surprising the amount of pessimism you have now," she said, without giving more details.

She also flagged the increased use of artificial intelligence, pointing out that there is a fear of job displacement among people.

"As we move towards a USD 4 trillion economy, I am not really focused on the economy as such. What does it matter to the common man if the GDP even triples, if we don't have jobs for everybody?" she asked.

Finding those jobs is the "responsibility" for every large and small business alike, she said, wondering if businesses investing in AI are actually making money.

India is a big talent house, and should be leading in creating AI solutions for the world, she said, adding that the true potential of the technology can be exploited by democratising it and taking it to small businesses and retailers.

Speaking at the same event, Sajith Pai, a partner at venture capital firm Blume, said India is divided into three parts from a consumption perspective, and businesses are generally after the top-most tier, which has 140 million people having the highest in any cohort per capita income of USD 15,000.

Pointing out the case of the investee company Ultrahuman, Pai said the Bengaluru-based company, which focuses on delivering health and fitness solutions, is clocking revenues of USD 100 million in the US alone.

WhatsApp's parent Meta's vice president for Asia Pacific Benjamin Joe said the global tech giant is excited about the opportunity offered by the Indian market.

Meta's Country Head for India Arun Srinivas said WhatsApp has tied up with three more state governments after Andhra Pradesh to deliver citizen-centric services through the popular instant messaging platform.

The company aims to tie up with all the states for such services, he said, adding that Andhra Pradesh offers over 700 services on the platform, and 40 lakh citizens have used the services. PTI AA DR DR