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Ease of doing business is fine, but time has come for pleasure of doing business, Union minister Suresh Prabhu said on Thursday.
"We need to work out a matrix for not just ease of doing business, but please of doing business.
Ease is fine, please is like you enjoy doing business, not to just remove hurdles.
Those who play guitar or piano love doing it.
People who do business should do it out of pleasure," the Commerce and Industry minister said at an event for startups in New Delhi.
Investment is the other side of consumption, said Prabhu, who also holds the civil aviation portfolio.
There is a need for "ease of investment" so that it leads to a spurt in economic activity, the minister asserted.
"Investment has to precede any significant activity on the ground.
Let's talk about ease of investment business.
How to remove hurdles from investment is the key.
That will lead to more economic activity, more capital and more investment, which is a virtuous cycle," he emphasised.
Coming to specifics, Prabhu made a reference to the issue of capital plaguing the industry.
"We want startups to grow faster, do a good job.
Capital is a big hurdle.
Global liquidity is far more than possible investment in projects.
Capital must grow at a faster rate than project implementation," the minister went on to say.
Acknowledging issues that startups face, Prabhu made a pitch for eliminating regulatory hurdles.
"We are setting up panels to do two things.
Why not remove regulations per se Get in touch with the secretary, we will take corrective action immediately, real time, as we did it with angel tax," he promised.
He sounded his convincing best when he told the gathering that "you have a friend in the government and we can form a partnership so that we develop startups together".
He touched upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for startups, hoping that they by definition would break from the past and come up with new ideas.
"We will be happy to support you and work with you," the minister reiterated.
He underscored the role PE players need to play to drive India growth story.
India would need big PE investment in days ahead, he made it clear.
"The requirement for various sectors is going to be huge - infra, manufacturing, agri, services.
Equity is necessary along with debt.
Equity is prerequisite for project completion.
From debt equity ratio perspective, PE players are going to play a big role," the commerce minister pointed out.
To those who are still undecided about coming into the country and invest, he has this piece to offer.
"If you want to make money, invest in future.
India is the future.
Efforts are on to turn India into a $5 trillion and then $10 trillion economy.
India is going to be the next growth engine of the world," Prabhu signed off.
