'Pvt investment to pick up from second half of FY24'

India's growth prospects have brightened and, with capacity utilisation touching 70-90 per cent in three straight quarters, private investment is set to bounce back, says Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) President R DINESH. In an interview with Asit Ranjan Mishra & Shiva Rajora in New Delhi, Dinesh proposes a green transition fund to manage the climate challenge. Edited excerpts:

- Asit Ranjan Mishra & Shiva Rajora

What are India's medium-term growth prospects? How do you see headwinds and tailwinds playing out?

At the start of my term (as CII president), I had predicted that India will grow at a rate between 6.5 per cent and 6.7 per cent. Now, after the first half, I am confident to raise the rate to 6.8 per cent. For next year, the growth rate could be 7 per cent, though it will become clearer in the latter part of the year.

The headwinds mostly are macroeconomic and global issues.

Volatility is the larger challenge-things that unfold within a week or two. Those are the kind of big challenges we have. The good news is that the negative situation has bottomed out in Europe at least. The US is doing well, and we hope it will continue to do so.

As for tailwinds, some good work has been done on the infrastructure front. The ease of doing business has shifted to the cost of doing business, and the latter has two important pillarsinfrastructure investment and digitisation. Also, amid global volatility, India has become a sweet spot. Its large domestic market gives it the scope of becoming an export hub, so there is significant interest among foreign investors. In a way, that interest has continued after Covid.

If India's growth prospects, as you highlight, are bright, why has India Inc become risk-averse? With private investment not growing, we seem to be relying solely on the government's capital expenditure.