AFP, New Delhi :
While Narendra Modi may be the toast of India’s titans of industry, bosses of the army of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are beginning to grow impatient for change a year into his premiership.
With the economy now outpacing even China, Modi has won big-name plaudits for transforming the climate with a series of reforms and pledges that have burnished his business-friendly credentials.
In a paean to Modi for the latest edition of Time magazine, US President Barack Obama hailed the prime minister for pursuing “an ambitious vision… to unleash India’s true economic potential”.
His domestic cheerleaders include some of the biggest names in Indian business such as the industrialist Gautam Adani who rarely left Modi’s side during the premier’s recent trip to France and Germany.
Since Modi’s election victory last May, big business has been delighted by his pledges to slash bureaucracy, streamline the tax regime and make it easier for companies to acquire agricultural land.
But the reception of SMEs has been significantly more circumspect, with many complaining that Modi is far more interested in pushing the cause of big business rather than encouraging entrepreneurs.
Ankit Sethi, the founder and managing director of the VibeTech India outsourcing firm, said Modi was concentrating too much of his efforts on “benefiting giant corporations”.
“Small to mid-size companies haven’t been able to gain much from this government except for a positive image for India which might be very beneficial for a few people,” said Sethi.
Modi has made changing the rules on buying land a major part of his plans to kickstart industrial projects and accelerate economic growth, which the International Monetary Fund predicts will rise to 7.5 percent this year.
But Sethi said Modi’s prioritising of the land bill, which is fiercely opposed by farmers, is symptomatic of his desire to please big business while doing little to help SMEs.
While Narendra Modi may be the toast of India’s titans of industry, bosses of the army of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are beginning to grow impatient for change a year into his premiership.
With the economy now outpacing even China, Modi has won big-name plaudits for transforming the climate with a series of reforms and pledges that have burnished his business-friendly credentials.
In a paean to Modi for the latest edition of Time magazine, US President Barack Obama hailed the prime minister for pursuing “an ambitious vision… to unleash India’s true economic potential”.
His domestic cheerleaders include some of the biggest names in Indian business such as the industrialist Gautam Adani who rarely left Modi’s side during the premier’s recent trip to France and Germany.
Since Modi’s election victory last May, big business has been delighted by his pledges to slash bureaucracy, streamline the tax regime and make it easier for companies to acquire agricultural land.
But the reception of SMEs has been significantly more circumspect, with many complaining that Modi is far more interested in pushing the cause of big business rather than encouraging entrepreneurs.
Ankit Sethi, the founder and managing director of the VibeTech India outsourcing firm, said Modi was concentrating too much of his efforts on “benefiting giant corporations”.
“Small to mid-size companies haven’t been able to gain much from this government except for a positive image for India which might be very beneficial for a few people,” said Sethi.
Modi has made changing the rules on buying land a major part of his plans to kickstart industrial projects and accelerate economic growth, which the International Monetary Fund predicts will rise to 7.5 percent this year.
But Sethi said Modi’s prioritising of the land bill, which is fiercely opposed by farmers, is symptomatic of his desire to please big business while doing little to help SMEs.
