CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said India has achieved a rare balance of high growth rate!

India GDP Growth: The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), an industry body, has urged the government to maintain the country's economic growth momentum, citing the need for a special emphasis on institutional reforms and fiscal consolidation in the upcoming Union Budget. The strategy formulated by CII to strengthen India's macroeconomic stability is based on key pillars such as debt sustainability, fiscal transparency, revenue mobilization, and expenditure efficiency.

Fiscal management should be given priority.

According to news agency PTI, CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said that India has achieved a rare balance of high growth rate, controlled inflation, and better fiscal indicators, to maintain which disciplined fiscal management and deep institutional reforms should be given priority in the Union Budget 2026-27 to be presented in February.

The industry body stressed the need to increase the tax-to-GDP ratio, saying that currently, the ratio is around 17.5 percent for the Centre and states combined, but it needs to be further increased to meet the country's developmental needs. CII recommended the use of cutting-edge data analytics techniques to detect tax evasion, linking tax returns with high-value transactions, and better utilisation of data obtained from India's robust digital infrastructure, which will expand the tax base and reduce compliance costs.

5-year rolling roadmap

To keep the debt manageable, CII stressed adhering to the roadmap of limiting government debt to around 50 per cent of GDP by FY 2030-31 and recommended adopting a three to five-year 'rolling roadmap' for revenue, expenditure, and debt to strengthen the medium-term fiscal framework.

It also suggested institutionalising a fiscal performance index to assess the quality of public finances of the Centre and states, thereby incentivising better-performing and reform-oriented states.

CII recommended adopting a phased strategy for disinvestment, gradually reducing the government's stake in public sector undertakings, first to 51 per cent and later to 26 to 33 per cent, while simultaneously continuing efforts for full privatisation.

Under expenditure management, especially emphasising subsidy reforms, the industry body pointed out challenges in the public distribution system, such as outdated data and black marketing, and the need to use digital tools to prioritise and monitor high-impact sectors such as education, health, skill development, and climate resilience to ensure better outcomes and financial savings.