No better time to bet on India than now, says billionaire Gautam Adani

recent slump in ecomic growth twithstanding, India will be one of world's top consumption centres and a manufacturing and services hub for next several deces, billionaire Gautam ani has said, stressing re is better time to bet on India than w.

India's ecomic growth slipped to 4.2 per cent in 2019-20 fiscal (April 2019 to March 2020) -- its slowest pace in more than a dece. International rating ncies, as well as Reserve Bank of India (RBI), have forecast a contraction in GDP in financial year that began in April 2020 on account of coronavirus-induced slowdown.

"What we must realize is that re are absolute right or wrong ideas. What is required during an unprecedented, hard to model crisis like COVID-19, is a Government that is willing to make decisions based on best available information at a given point of time and constantly apting as new information becomes available," ani said in latest annual report of ani Gas Ltd.

Countries with greater resources have struggled while India has done well in containing fallout of COVID-19, he said.

"While our battle with virus is far from over, I have hesitation in stating that h decisions that got me been delayed we could have been facing an unmitigated disaster that would t just impact India but have global ramifications," he said.

ani, who hes country's biggest infrastructure conglomerate spanning ports to power, said: " business has suffered immensely, lives and jobs have been lost, and migrant worker crisis sdened entire nation, but consequences of unkwn alternates would be far grimmer."

"What leers of our nation, doctors, healthcare workers, police, army, small street-side vendors, and citizens have done to support each or is truly what defines India and its resiliency," he said. "Sitting where we are today, I can say that history is in process of being scripted."

Stating that short or mid-term possible ecomic outcomes as a result of COVID-19 are hard to predict, ani said re cant be any denying fact that India over next several deces will be a market continuously on up and one that simply cant be igred.

"It will be one of world's top consumption centres, manufacturing and service hubs and a beacon of stable democratic governance," he said. "If re was a time to make a bet on India, re may t be a better time than w."

ani, who is chairman of ani Gas Ltd, said on or side of this crisis will emerge massive new opportunities, terrific businesses and a few stronger nations.

"Those that succeed will be ones that understand that resilience is built on or side of tunnel of crisis and we are alrey getting rey for this," he said.

ani Group's six publicly tred companies have each performed well.

"While we may have to do need-based course correction in our strategies in wake of challenge that we are facing, romap remains clear," he said, ding group's businesses are closely aligned to lifeline of ecomy, providing essential services and dressing critical national infrastructure priorities.

"Any shock to a system always helps drive home some key points and what Indian businesses have learnt over past few years and most certainly post COVID-19 is value of an optimal and perhaps for some sectors a conservative capital structure as well as criticality to have systematic risk mitigation plans in place," he ted.

ani Group, he ded, is focussing on optimising capital utilisation, redesigning organisational structure to minimise risk in businesses and funding operations in phases.

"I am happy to share that during year (2019-20), Group has been able to bring strategic global equity partners in ani Gas, ani Green Energy Ltd and ani Mumbai Electricity Ltd," he said, ding total investment of USD 1.6 billion by partners will help drive future growth.

(Im - PTI)