ET Awards: Corporate India is in great form, again, says Vineet Jain, MD, Times Group

The celebration of a resilient India is a celebration of its business reformers like Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and the innovative drive of industry’s brightest stars, said Vineet Jain, managing director, Times Group. More so, because the “last two years have tested the mettle of all of India”. “But today, as we meet in person, India’s GDP growth is back on track. The stock market is up 20% in the last year. Corporate India has learned, adapted, and is in great form again. And if proof of robustness were required, it’s just come in the form of the highest ever GST collection in April,” he said at the ET Awards for Corporate Excellence in Mumbai.

Welcoming the FM and Union defence minister Rajnath Singh, Jain said that four winners from the healthcare and pharma sectors, and three from technology showcase how the ET Awards have always reflected the changing business landscape of India.

He lauded the continuing reform efforts of the Narendra Modi government, and Nirmala Sitharaman’s stewardship of the economy through unprecedented times.

“At least some of the success of these winners is owed to the recipient of the Business Reformer of the Year Award, the honourable finance minister. While the Covid crisis has provided an impetus to a range of structural reforms, he said the government has continued to work on GST, company law and insolvency code, among others, and this, together with public expenditure, will eventually enable higher growth.

Citing the example of Air India and Pawan Hans, Jain said privatisation has gathered momentum. Also, the government’s emphasis on atma nirbharta or self-reliance in defence as well as other sectors now looks prescient, he said. The economy has responded quickly to the measures — bouncing back 8.9% in FY22 and possibly 8% in the current fiscal, he said. “These measures will see us through what looks to be the next challenge of the century: geopolitical instability and war in Europe.”

Raising a toast to the winners, he said,“At the ET Awards, we celebrate success, but also look for inspiration for continued excellence”.