Seven consultancies to help develop India's economic recovery plan
Invest India – a public-private partnership aimed at promoting investments across the Indian economy – has roped in a cohort of major consulting firms to devise a recovery strategy for the Covid-19 crisis.
Invest India is a non-profit government initiative that facilitates collaboration among various sectors to promote sustainable investments in the country. The body also identifies areas that require targeted investments and coordinates among government and industry bodies to make it happen.
The initiative was set up under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry’s Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade in 2009. The Ministry holds a 49% stake in the organisation, while the rest is represented by the private sector, jointly owned by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), and the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom).
As the country navigates the Covid-19 crisis and the resultant economic disruption, this group of umbrella organisations is looking ahead at how the economy will recover, and is geared at positioning India at the forefront of the global economic recovery.
External expertise
A group of seven consultancies have been brought on board to support Invest India with its recovery planning process: PwC, KPMG, EY, Bain, BCG, Primus Partners and Mirae Asset Management. Primus Partners is a management consultancy that specialises in public policy strategy, while Mirae Asset Managements is the Indian arm of a global investment platform. Together, the team of consultants have been labeled the Business Reconstruction Team (BRT).
According to The Hindu Business Line, documents released by Invest India state that the BRT has been formed to “create a strategy and ‘ready to implement’ plan of action for India’s economic revival by analysing quantitative and qualitative metrics across states, districts and sectors.”
Deepak Bagla, Managing Director and CEO of Invest India, said that the plan will be developed and implemented in two phases. The first is the immediate phase, which involves getting the economy up and running immediately after the lockdown. The BRT is developing a sector-wise plan on how to restart, possibly using best practices from other countries as a framework.
The second phase eyes more long-term considerations on how to draw foreign investments into India. A number of experts have been commenting on these factors recently, speaking of medium to long-term opportunities that have emerged from the Covid-19 crisis. KPMG executive Nitish Poddar recently explained how the growth of sectors such as online retail and eHealth in India will make it an attractive spot for investments post the lockdown.
Deloitte India chief N Venkatram meanwhile pointed out how India could work on its manufacturing capabilities in the next two years, giving it the chance to take over key parts of the global supply chain from a vulnerable Chinese market.
The BRT will be considering ways to implement all these strategies, among others, looking to ensure that India’s economy takes the opportunities available under the circumstances.
Full details of the mandates of Big Four firms PwC, KPMG and EY, and strategy consulting firms Bain and BCG have not been released.
