'States need to grow at faster pace to boost economy'

Acknowledging that the economy is passing through a "stressful phase", BJP general secretary Ram Madhav on Tuesday that the Indian economy can't be written off and the states need to develop at a faster pace to achieve the desired national GDP rate for the country.

His remarks come in the midst of the government facing criticism over the dropping GDP growth rate.

"We don't deny the fact that the economy is currently passing through a stressful phase but that doesn't mean we write off the Indian economy. There is no need to be too gloomy about it...the sentiment is dominating the real understanding of the situation," he said at an event organised by the FICCI at its office.

Underlining that the government is open to all good suggestions from known and unknown sources to minimise this phase, Madhav said growth only at the level of Government of India is not sufficient to achieve the desired growth rate, and states also need to grow.

"It is the states whose growth will be the aggregate growth rate of India. Growth at Government of India-level will not be sufficient," he said, asking "do you know that the growth of half of the Indian states is less than five per cent?"

Madhav said 1,080 items were brought out of the GST regime due to demands of various states, while a large number of items were being levied a tax of zero and five per cent.

He said that rather than writing obituaries and promoting the sentiment of gloom there is a need to look at the factors responsible for the slowdown.

Not a single week has gone by when the Finance Ministry did not make an intervention for boosting the economy, Madhav added.