Centre to focus on infrastructure

Public spending on infrastructure, particularly rural infrastructure, irrigation and a package on social security will be key priorities for the NDA government this year, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Tuesday.

Speaking to mediapersons, Jaitley said that the confidence in Indian economy, both domestically and within the international community, was back since NDA government took over at the Centre last year.

“One year back, the growth rate of the country was on the decline and the government was riled with accusations of multiple scams, be it related to coal, telecom or CWG. This, along with policy paralysis, led to waning of investor confidence. Things have since changed and despite obstructions from the opposition,” Jaitley added.

He said though the country is feeling some heat due to global slowdown, it is back on growth path with economic growth at 7.5 per cent this year. “Fiscal deficit is under control and so is inflation. The ease of doing business has improved and we expect the economic growth to be higher than 7.5 per cent coming year,” he said.

He also refuted the claim that Modi government had failed to curb  price rise, stating that inflation, which was at 11 per cent in UPA regime has come down considerably. “The consumer price index is at 5 per cent and wholesale price index is negative. Some commodities may have seasonal variations but our government’s food management is geared towards curbing prices. Overall prices are under control,” Jaitley said.

On tax reforms, Jaitley described GST as the biggest taxation reform in independent India and said that the Union government is bringing about several changes in the taxation to avoid double taxation and ensure uniformity. He said that introduction of GST will open up one huge single market for business, leading to lower prices going forward.

On the issue of black money and Swiss banks revealing names of Indians, Jaitley said that government “is working on somehow convince the Swiss authorities to overcome the secrecy clause” in their banking system.