US tariffs temporary setback for India, will lead to hyper inflation in America: Singhania

Mumbai, Sep 10 (PTI) Terming the massive shift in trade policies by US President Donald Trump as a "dangerous game", industrialist Gautam Singhania on Wednesday said the tariffs are a temporary setback for India.

Speaking on the sidelines of his company Raymond's 100th anniversary celebrations here, Singhania said the tariffs will lead to "hyper inflation" in the US as the cost of imports goes up.

"I think it's going to cause hyper-inflation in the US," Singhania, the chairman and managing director of the Raymond group having its genesis in textiles, told PTI.

Speaking about the strategies adopted by the country, Singhania said the government will figure out something on this "temporary setback".

"I think one has to ride this storm out. It is a storm on the tariff side. You have to look for new markets and take it forward from there," he said.

Singhania said the government has done the right thing by rationalising GST, and added that this will help boost consumption.

This will aid companies like Raymond, he added.

The group, which has diversified into real estate and defence and aerospace businesses, does not have any investment plans at present, he said.

Without offering any hints, Singhania said that one of the group companies is looking for an acquisition at present.

On the real estate side, Singhania said the arm has signed six joint development agreements and aspires to play a major role as the financial capital gets redeveloped.

He declined to comment on the broader group aspirations over the medium to long term, saying nobody can predict the future and change is the only constant.

Singhania, who turned 60 on Tuesday, also declined to speak on succession at the group.

His wife Nawaz Modi and two daughters were present at a ceremony to mark the 100 years of the group. PTI AA HVA