Indian PM, industrialists, bankers discuss economy amid economic slowdown, social unrest

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday held a meeting with top industrialists and bankers to discuss the economic scenario amid slowdown of the economy and social unrest, according to local media reports.

The meeting is also likely to throw focus on stepping up the reform impetus, said local daily Indian Express.

Those invited for the meeting include Reliance India Ltd chairman Mukesh Ambani and Tata group chief Cyrus Mistry. Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan, HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh, and economists such as Jehangir Aziz, head (emerging Asia economics), JP Morgan, fund managers and the chiefs of the industry chambers have also been invited, said the reports.

The meeting came when two of the government's key reform measures, the Land Acquisition Act and the Constitutional Amendment Bill for the rollout of the goods and services tax, have been stalled due to a Parliamentary logjam.

A nationwide strike early this month by employees in public sectors, transport and banking institutions shook the country and dealt a blow to Modi's plan to reform the labor laws, while the economic and social woes were also reflected in riots last month in the western state of Gujarat, a bastion of Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party.

India's economic growth slowed down to 7 percent in the first quarter of the current fiscal from April to June, compared with 7. 5 percent last year.

The opposition Congress has accused the government of failing to meet its electoral promises.