SBI Chief Dinesh Khara Calls For More Foreign Participation To Fund India's Capital Requirements

SBI Chief Dinesh Kumar Khara believes that considering the prevailing scenario in the domestic market, the growth trajectory that the country is aiming at might be challenging to achieve. Read on.

Image: Dinesh Khara -(Dineshkumar.khara.90/Facebook)

Mumbai: It is essential for India to encourage more foreign participation to meet the country's capital requirements, said State Bank of India (SBI) chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara on Tuesday.  "Going forward, the kind of requirement that the economy has in terms of about Rs 100 crores plus of infrastructure flowing through will be possible only if we encourage more and more foreign participation," Khara said while addressing the CII Partnership Summit 2020. A strong proponent of getting foreign money to spur India's growth, Khara said that even if the Development Finance Institution (DFI) is actioned, the source of funds will have to be international as compared to the earlier version of DFI, wherein the funds were essentially coming from the government. Khara believed that considering the prevailing scenario in the domestic market where household savings are the primary source of capital in the economy, the growth trajectory that the country is aiming at might be challenging to achieve. Mr. Sanjay Nayar, CEO, KKR India, opined that foreign money shall come and go, but the long-lasting and effective way to fund the country's growth is to go local and develop the local capital markets. "We need to do a lot for the local corporate debt market. On the broad level, you need to encourage local savings," said Mr. Nayar, adding that a bad bank is a good idea for a country like India and that it was the best way forward to get some Government funding or DFI funding. Mr. Vishal Kampani, Managing Director, J M Financial Limited, opined that for India to reach its target of the $5 trillion economy, it was essential to have a lot more banks. "If we have to reach the $5 trillion mark, we need 10-15 well-capitalized banks, which are able to move the financial savings towards interesting instruments and products which can fund our long-term growth needs." He also mentioned that credit had to grow at a much faster pace for GDP to increase. Mr. Rajeev Kannan, Managing Executive Officer, Deputy Head, Asia Pacific Division, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Singapore, mentioned that the infrastructure financing area is one area where the country could invest for a better growth prospect in the future. Dr. Janmejaya Sinha, Chairman – India, The Boston Consulting Group India Private Limited, emphasized that there are project finance economies, and there are working capital economies, and all developed economies are working capital economies. Countries like India are mostly project-financed economies, and thus economies like ours need to take project risks. "There are project finance economies, and there are working capital economies. I consider all developed economies as working capital economies," said Mr. Sinha. WATCH | Know how farmers' protest has triggered 'corporate war'