India Inc on Monday appeared to heed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's call to avoid large-scale lay-offs following the slowdown that is impacting industrial production and overall economic growth.
"While every effort needs to be made to cut costs and raise productivity, I hope there will be no knee-jerk reaction such as large-scale lay-offs which may lead to a negative spiral. Industry must bear in mind its societal obligations in coping with the effects of this global crisis," Singh told captains of Indian industry at a meeting in New Delhi on Monday.
Meanwhile, the government also decided to set up a high-powered committee within the next two days to work on ways to ensure that the credit and liquidity crunch and other problems that industry faces are resolved and the growth momentum is sustained.
"The committee may be headed either by the prime minister or the finance minister," a senior government official told reporters after the meeting.
This will be the second such committee that the government is setting up.
Earlier, the finance ministry had constituted a committee of bankers and officials to examine the liquidity crunch. Many of the committee's suggestions were implemented.
Singh assured the assembled business leaders that his government would take necessary monetary and fiscal steps to boost economic growth.
Pointing to increased investment in infrastructure, he said the government will review projects in order