Now Reading: Amitabh Kant calls for SLR cut to boost manufacturing
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Amitabh Kant calls for SLR cut to boost manufacturing
Former NITI Aayog chief executive Amitabh Kant on 11 October said India must cut the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) to boost job-intensive manufacturing. He told PTI that the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme is a short-term fix, and reducing the cost of credit through a lower SLR is needed in the long run. The SLR, currently at 18 per cent, is the share of deposits banks must invest in government securities.
Kant said the cost and availability of credit, land acquisition and power are key challenges. He pointed to China, Vietnam and Mexico as examples of countries that support manufacturing through easy land access or long-term leasing. He added that India is the only country where enterprises pay more for power than residential consumers, calling it treating manufacturing as a 'second-grade subject'.
Kant also warned that without adequate credit, startups in new-age sectors like geospatial will not grow into large companies. He said allied activities around data centres will generate employment, even if the centres themselves are not labour-intensive.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Both Business Standard and the Economic Times carried the same PTI feed on Amitabh Kant's remarks, with near-identical copy. There is no divergence in framing: both outlets lead with the SLR cut call and attribute the same quotes to Kant. Neither outlet adds editorial comment or omits any of his criticisms, such as the power pricing anomaly or the comparison with China and Vietnam. The uniform coverage reflects wire copy published verbatim. The concrete takeaway is that Kant, a former top bureaucrat, has publicly urged the government to lower the SLR from 18 per cent, a step he argues would reduce credit costs for manufacturers.
Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral
Sources (2): business-standard.com (neutral report), economictimes.indiatimes.com (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
