GOVT TO STUDY IMPACT ON INDIA INC

G Ganapathy Subramaniam, New Delhi
The Economic Times

Apprehending that the impact of the Wall St meltdown would hit India Inc sooner than expected, the government has called for a high-level meeting to discuss ways to minimise the damage to key sectors of the economy. Cabinet secretary K M Chandrashekar has convened a meeting of secretaries from key departments including commerce, financial services, telecom, IT and agriculture.

The Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) is preparing a note on the impact of the financial sector crisis and this would be discussed at the meeting, government sources said. Exports could be affected due to the slowdown in the US and Europe, and other sectors facing a direct impact are IT and financial services, according to initial assessments. The telecom sector would also be affected due to the resultant slowdown in India it is felt.

In the case of exports, commerce secretary G K Pillai took stock of the situation on Thursday in a meeting with senior officials of the department of commerce.

Representatives of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade were also present at the meeting, the sources said. The US and the European Union are among the top trade partners of India.

Recession or slowdown in Europe and the US would depress demand for Indian products in these markets, officials feel.