Latest news with #Memani
TimesLIVE
17 hours ago
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
Parties call for suspension of Bitou municipal manager amid corruption claims
Opposition parties in the Bitou municipality have opened a case of corruption and contempt of court against municipal manager Mbulelo Memani. The ANC, Plett Democratic Congress (PDC) and the PA laid the criminal complaint against him at the Plettenberg Bay police station. They accused Memani of 'defiance of a high court order and alleged misuse of public funds for personal and political gain'. In a joint statement, the parties claimed to have evidence that a municipal official had paid R800,000 to the municipality on Memani's behalf. ANC councillor Sandiso Gcabayi accused Memani of creating a high-profile post for Allen Paulse without following recruitment procedures. 'In December 2024, Memani submitted a new organigram to the Bitou municipality for council approval. This new organigram included the new position for performance management, monitoring and evaluation. This position was [allegedly] specifically created for Allen Paulse,' Gcabayi said.
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Business Standard
07-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Urban consumption not growing as anticipated: CII President Rajiv Memani
Memani talked about issues ranging from India-US FTA to India's complex relationship with China and the labour code implementation premium Ruchika Chitravanshi New Delhi Listen to This Article Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) President Rajiv Memani — in a conversation with Ruchika Chitravanshi in New Delhi — said that the financial risk taking capacity of entrepreneurs has come down in the last 3-4 months. Memani spoke about issues ranging from the India-US free-trade agreement (FTA) to India's complex relationship with China and the labour code implementation. Edited excerpts: What are some red flags and green shoots in the whole macroeconomic outlook right now? All the macroeconomic parameters, from a government standpoint, are strong. Net non-performing asset (NPA) and interest rates are at an all-time low. Inflation is
Time of India
06-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
'Investors have faith in India, capex happening'
Rajiv Memani Rajiv Memani, chairman and CEO of consulting firm EY India has taken over as the new president of CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) at a critical juncture for India Inc. In an interview to TOI, Memani says the overall health of businesses is not bad and he expects a reasonably strong bounce-back in growth. Excerpts: Some numbers point to a slowdown in Q1. What is your assessment of current economic situation? There are some sectors where the growth has been good. Some sectors have been impacted in terms of profitability due to the geopolitical situation, the global trade-related uncertainty and the earlier onset of monsoons. But the overall health of businesses is not bad. Overall GST collection in the first quarter is still 11-12%, it's not bad. In the low-to-middle income segments in urban areas, there is some pressure. But outside of that it's okay. Rural consumption is becoming more robust. With lower interest rates, lower inflation, more crop sowing, there is expectation that the bounce-back should be reasonably strong and we should be looking at the GDP numbers that we had estimated. Tax incentives were announced in Budget. Is there evidence of higher spends by consumers, especially middle class? It is too early to say. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 境界のないゲームを発見する BuzzDaily Winners ゲームをプレイ Undo The pattern of consumption is changing. So, sometimes traditional measures don't fully indicate where consumption is happening. People are spending much more on technology, much more on experiences than in traditional areas. But I am sure that in some form or shape consumption will increase whether it's in travel technology or in the traditional areas. What about private investment? Private investment has been growing. There's a general myth that private investments are not happening. It is happening. If you look at every data, after 2020, for a year or two before Covid and for a year or two after that it was slow. But from 2022-23 onwards private sector investments have picked up. There are three or four things, which are impacting decisions. One is global uncertainty; second, demand in some areas has not been as strong as anticipated, time taken for approvals for land, environmental clearances in states and lack of skilled manpower for large projects in newer areas. If I was planning a capex of, say, Rs 1,000 crore, given the uncertainty, I will probably reduce it to Rs 600-700 crore. But, the fundamental focus on growth, fundamental belief in India, strength in the balance sheet, seeing what's happening in the capital markets, lower interest rates, that will make investments come through. What is your expectation on US tariffs? Do you expect a deal? The engagement has been very intense. The level of detailing is very high. Not everyone is going to probably get the best deal. At an overall level, the industry would benefit and is keen to ensure that India enters into a bilateral trade agreement and not wait for 26% duty to come through. How is industry bracing for tariff cuts as govt is working on multiple FTAs? We are trying to see how we can mitigate the non-tariff barriers as part of the FTA talks. There are a lot of complementarities with the current set of countries with which FTAs are being signed. Indian industry is very clear that on an average duties could come down by 5-20%. If that is the gap, there has to be much more focus on competitiveness, including internal competitiveness through investment in R&D and other areas. The other is in terms of factors of production such as land, or energy, logistics and cost of capital. CII has set up a committee to address the issue of competitiveness. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Economic Times
06-07-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Private investments flat, but pickup in demand seen: CII Chief Rajiv Memani
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads New Delhi: Private investment stayed flat in the last three-six months as companies are finding it challenging to envisage manufacturing amid an uncertain tariff structure, though it is currently seeing a revival in line with an improvement in the demand environment , said Rajiv Memani, president, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)."I won't say it has gone down, but it is kind of flat in the last three to six months. But we can see an acceleration happening as the demand environment picks up especially with the interest rate reduction," Memani told ET, adding that land and environment approvals should also be firms announced new projects worth ₹3.5 lakh crore in the quarter ended June, sharply rising from ₹1.4 lakh crore a year earlier, according to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy. However, it was the lowest level of private investments in four quarters. On urban consumption, Memani said there is some slowdown, especially in the lower-to-middle-income noted that India previously used to take a long time for inking free trade agreements (FTA) with the West. That scenario has changed, with all nations including India presently evaluating trade pacts with trusted partners."I think it's a positive change, but it is a big change. We are signing up with large countries where we have complementarity of with countries we are competing with," said Memani, adding such pacts also create a bigger market opportunity besides generating interest from micro, small and medium issues that India should be wary of while negotiating FTAs with developed countries, he said, "You have to be trusting and verifying go in step by step rather than trying to boil the ocean in one go."Insisting that India has to create efficiency by unleashing further reforms on land, logistics, energy, and labour productivity, even at the state level, he also called for more investments in R&D. "We need to act with more speed and look at either reforms and allocations towards R&D and also some of the production linked incentive (PLI) schemes or schemes like PLI which require some initial support," Memani how the industry is preparing to deal with shocks such as China suspending rare earth exports, he said companies are reducing their financial risks, taking lesser debt, and relying more on industry chamber is assessing the extent of India's reliance on global supply chains. Citing the instance of compressors, Memani said the critical parts are imported and that CII is engaging with the government on ways to address the issue and areas where PLI support is has recently recalled its engineers and technicians from the Indian factories of Taiwanese contract manufacturing giant Foxconn and Memani said the Centre has been cautioning the local industry that such things can happen, urging it to be prepared. The government, he noted, has been proactive and offered PLI said CII's suggestions on goods and services tax (GST) reforms include rate rationalisation and slab structuring, subsuming all taxes in the overarching framework and input tax credit which impact industry competitiveness. "I think it's very important that we find ways and means to bolster the income and resilience of the bottom 30%," Memani reform pertains to assessment audit processes wherein states have their own separate audits with each raising different issues and asking different sets of information. "What we have recommended is that there should be a standard operating procedure. Secondly, can we just do the audit once at least for the MSMEs. So these are newer issues that are coming up," he said. The last GST reform is technology-linked where for smaller companies, CII has recommended lesser compliances."Within some sectors, there are areas where we have dependencies in industry is trying to see how the gross value add can improve. So if you look at electronics, how can you bring it up to late 20% or early 30% in the next five-six years," Memani said, pointing to disabilities in certain sectors. The CII has set up an AI Centre of Excellence to help companies become more efficient. "We are seeing early signs in some industries-information technology and financial services. I think there is a clear need that India should be the AI capital of the world," said Memani.
Time of India
06-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Private investments flat, but pickup in demand seen: CII Chief Rajiv Memani
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel New Delhi: Private investment stayed flat in the last three-six months as companies are finding it challenging to envisage manufacturing amid an uncertain tariff structure, though it is currently seeing a revival in line with an improvement in the demand environment , said Rajiv Memani, president, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)."I won't say it has gone down, but it is kind of flat in the last three to six months. But we can see an acceleration happening as the demand environment picks up especially with the interest rate reduction," Memani told ET, adding that land and environment approvals should also be firms announced new projects worth ₹3.5 lakh crore in the quarter ended June, sharply rising from ₹1.4 lakh crore a year earlier, according to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy. However, it was the lowest level of private investments in four quarters. On urban consumption, Memani said there is some slowdown, especially in the lower-to-middle-income noted that India previously used to take a long time for inking free trade agreements (FTA) with the West. That scenario has changed, with all nations including India presently evaluating trade pacts with trusted partners."I think it's a positive change, but it is a big change. We are signing up with large countries where we have complementarity of with countries we are competing with," said Memani, adding such pacts also create a bigger market opportunity besides generating interest from micro, small and medium issues that India should be wary of while negotiating FTAs with developed countries, he said, "You have to be trusting and verifying go in step by step rather than trying to boil the ocean in one go."Insisting that India has to create efficiency by unleashing further reforms on land, logistics, energy, and labour productivity, even at the state level, he also called for more investments in R&D. "We need to act with more speed and look at either reforms and allocations towards R&D and also some of the production linked incentive (PLI) schemes or schemes like PLI which require some initial support," Memani how the industry is preparing to deal with shocks such as China suspending rare earth exports, he said companies are reducing their financial risks, taking lesser debt, and relying more on industry chamber is assessing the extent of India's reliance on global supply chains. Citing the instance of compressors, Memani said the critical parts are imported and that CII is engaging with the government on ways to address the issue and areas where PLI support is has recently recalled its engineers and technicians from the Indian factories of Taiwanese contract manufacturing giant Foxconn and Memani said the Centre has been cautioning the local industry that such things can happen, urging it to be prepared. The government, he noted, has been proactive and offered PLI said CII's suggestions on goods and services tax (GST) reforms include rate rationalisation and slab structuring, subsuming all taxes in the overarching framework and input tax credit which impact industry competitiveness. "I think it's very important that we find ways and means to bolster the income and resilience of the bottom 30%," Memani reform pertains to assessment audit processes wherein states have their own separate audits with each raising different issues and asking different sets of information. "What we have recommended is that there should be a standard operating procedure. Secondly, can we just do the audit once at least for the MSMEs. So these are newer issues that are coming up," he said. The last GST reform is technology-linked where for smaller companies, CII has recommended lesser compliances."Within some sectors, there are areas where we have dependencies in industry is trying to see how the gross value add can improve. So if you look at electronics, how can you bring it up to late 20% or early 30% in the next five-six years," Memani said, pointing to disabilities in certain sectors. The CII has set up an AI Centre of Excellence to help companies become more efficient. "We are seeing early signs in some industries-information technology and financial services. I think there is a clear need that India should be the AI capital of the world," said Memani.
