India would become a USD 5 trillion economy, says Anurag Thakur; S Jaishankar talks about a 11 % growth in the current year
Our Bureau
New Delhi
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday that the union budget presented earlier this month marks a clear directional change for the Indian economy and seeks to raise non-tax resources at a time when the country needs a lot of money to spend.
Addressing FICCI’s national executive committee meeting via video conferencing here today she said infrastructure, health and agriculture were three large areas where big-ticket expenditure will happen. “This budget marks a clear directional change for the Indian economy and that directional change is not what the government has offered as a sudden response, but it was something that was preoccupying the Indian minds for over 30 years,” she said.
“It’s a budget which raises resources but not on the back of increased taxation. There is a directional change in the budget which is so distinct that it will fuel the entrepreneurial spirit which the Indians show given the right opportunities,” she added.
The Finance Minister said the government has not burdened any section of Indian society “with any additional demand for even an additional rupee”.
She said the government has good confidence that revenue generation will improve through this year.
The minister said the government is confident that it will be bringing in non-tax revenue other than just disinvestments through various other monetization of assets.
She urged the industry to come forward to make investments.
“I hope the industry will understand the spirit with which the budget is placed before you and therefore also come forward to participate in this inevitable exercise. Industry, having cleared all its debts and finances, should now be in a position to invest money to expand and grow and clearly show signs that it is now ready to receive any joint ventures for the sake of technology that it prefers to have,” she said.
The minister said the government alone, even if it brings bags full of money, cannot just meet the demand of the growing and aspirational India,”
Referring to Development Financial Institutions (DFI), Sitharaman said the government will enable one DFI and the entire financing of long-term infrastructure will happen in a very market-driven way. “That itself will bring in efficiency.”
The government, she said, has taken a confident, trustworthy and transparent accounting statement in the budget.
According to an official release, FICCI President Uday Shankar said the most satisfying aspect of this budget is that they “did not see much tinkering of taxes” and this adds to policy certainty and investor confidence.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur said on Saturday that the Indian economy is witnessing a V-shaped recovery after challenges posed by COVID-19 pandemic.
Interacting with the media here, Thakur said India and other countries faced economic slowdown due to lockdown and other measures taken to contain the spread of the pandemic. “But India stood strong. The economy is witnessing a V-shaped recovery,” he said.
He said the union budget presented earlier this month will give a boost to various sectors. “The recent budget has no new taxes on the people of this country,” he said, adding that Modi Government “is development- driven”.
He said all sections of people have appreciated the budget except the opposition parties. The minister said that the revised estimates (RE) 2020-21 for expenditure is 34.50 lakh crore as against budgetary estimates (BE) 2020-21 of 30.42 lakh crore.
External Affairs S Jaishankar said on Saturday that the country is expected to see 11 per GDP cent growth in the coming year. Addressing a press conference here, he also said Andhra Pradesh will get the kind of support it needs to open up possibilities in sectors such as manufacturing, food processing and agriculture. “Our expectation is that we’ll get double-digit 11 per cent plus growth in the coming year. The issue for us is between corona recovery and economic recovery, what is the future direction we should be going. This time, it was clearly indicated by the budget,” he said.
He said that development of Andhra Pradesh will also be boosted by multiple corridors passing through it.
“Andhra Pradesh will get the kind of support it needs to open up its possibilities, whether in the field of manufacturing, food processing, or agriculture,” he said.
