India, Aug. 13 -- The 50% tariff imposed by the US government on Indian merchandise exports goes beyond just trade economics and represents complex geopolitical issues that, hopefully, will get resolved over time. This is an opportunity for the industry and the government to work together to accelerate economic reforms and make India truly competitive. Indian industry stands behind the government and will do whatever it takes to make the country an economic superpower. In the short term, we certainly need to accelerate bilateral agreements with the European Union (EU), and other countries and trading blocs. Second, immediate relief needs to be provided to the impacted sectors, especially labour-intensive micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). This relief should be significant and quick and can be provided either as financial support or by other measures such as facilitating e-commerce, and customs duty exemption on import of raw materials for exports. Before I talk about factor market reforms, I'd like to touch upon the ease of doing business, which is a critical enabler. Substantial work by the Centre and the states is underway and deserves to be complimented. This is a long journey and requires extensive stakeholder consultations and benchmarking with competing Asian manufacturing economies. The focus must continue, particularly with regard to construction permits, environmental clearances, decriminalisation of economic laws, customs processes, and labour laws. More forums like the GST Council with representations from the Centre and the states can be constituted for country-wide implementations. New labour codes that include flexible working models, allowing hiring for all business activities for fixed periods (fixed term employment), relaxing number of daily working hours subject to a weekly cap and employment of women in night shifts while ensuring their safety, flexibility in hiring and termination process such as rationalising government approval for workmen retrenchment (from 100 to 300) are all urgently required. Further, competing economies like Vietnam provide greater flexibility in wage adjustments, subject to maintenance of basic salary, and more flexibility in making changes to the workforce, which helps businesses better navigate dynamic changes in the external environment. While the Union government can take the lead, state governments will need to work closely with it, as labour is a part of the concurrent list. Deep structural reforms are now needed to make our factor markets efficient, improve the business environment, ensure global competitiveness, and turbocharge the economy. While there are many areas, I share a few themes like land, electricity, taxation, de-risking supply chains, and mining that need major changes. One, to increase the availability of land, easier and speedier transfer, and clearer titles are now urgently necessary. Surplus land with the government and public sector undertakings can also be unlocked to increase the supply and make land acquisition costs affordable. Reforms that help in automatic change in land use subject to safeguards, and increasing floor area ratios, will help keep land costs down. These, together with modernising land ownership records, digitising and tokenising titles, and clearer and fair acquisition processes, can propel investments and reduce costs for both MSMEs and large businesses. Two, reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy supply is absolutely necessary for industry's competitiveness. Reforms to help distribution companies become financially self-sustaining, including privatising distribution, eliminating cross-subsidies in tariffs in many sectors, and creating transmission capacity, are imperative. Gains from reduction in transmission and distribution (T&D) losses could also help make up for any shortfall in revenues because of industrial and commercial tariff reduction. Post award, delays in signing pre-purchase agreements (PPAs) are hindering the speed of execution; PPAs need to be expedited. In addition, reduced regulatory complexity for captive power plants can make enterprises more competitive. Three, reforms in both the GST rates and the procedures need to be fast-tracked. Reduction of rates will no doubt spur demand. Streamlining of the input tax credit mechanism is also required. The increase in demand would address the impact of the rate change when it comes to revenue neutrality. For procedural ease, one company should be subject to one audit irrespective of the number of states it operates in, and states and the Centre must rely on each other. Standardisation of audit procedures to be followed by states, accountability for notices issued, and creation of a Central Appellate Tribunal are required. Four, the recent challenges with respect to rare earth minerals illustrate the risk embedded in our current supply chains. The list of critical inputs and products, for which India is critically dependent on imports, is available. Compressors and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are two examples where there is significant potential to increase domestic manufacturing. Schemes such as the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme and, if required, joint ventures with global businesses - including those from China - that have the technology and know-how need to be considered. Indian businesses should also be more vigilant towards supply chain risks, enhance their competitiveness and invest in new areas where India is dependent on imports. Five, strength in the mining sector not only adds to economic activity but also strengthens the manufacturing sector. The exploration of mineral reserves in the country needs to be accelerated. Amending the terms of exploration licences to include the right to mine in case of a successful discovery and increasing the area limits for a player to prospect and mine can make Indian mineral exploration more attractive. Production of iron ore and coal can be increased by making more deposits that are currently with the public sector available for mining under joint ventures - and by nudging the states. After the award of a mining lease, it takes two to three years to get various approvals. Single-window approval for various clearances, including forest and environmental, can result in faster implementation of mining operations after a lease is awarded. Finally, the government should consider undertaking disinvestment and asset monetisation. This would facilitate the flow of private capital, act as a buffer for foreign direct investment (FDI), strengthen government finances, and improve business sentiment. Between disinvestments and investments in newly-opened sectors, we could target $200 billion in FDI over the next 18 months, which will be in addition to significant domestic capital available. There are significant opportunities for big, and pragmatic reforms in many sectors, and this is the right time to pursue them....