"I appeal to all political parties to resolve to pass the GST laws and DTC in 2014-15," he said.
Referring to the GDP growth rate, Chidambaram said the slowdown began in 2011-12 and in nine quarters it had declined from 7.5 per cent in Q1 of 2011-12 to 4.4 per cent in Q1 of 2013-14.
He said thanks to numerous measures taken, he was confident the decline will be arrested and the growth cycle will turn in the second quarter.
"I think I have been vindicated. Growth in Q2 of 2013-14 has been placed at 4.8 per cent and growth for the whole year has been estimated at 4.9 per cent. This means that growth in Q3 and Q4 of 2013-14 will be at least 5.2 per cent," he said.
The Finance Minister said the economy is more stable today than what it was two years ago. "The fiscal deficit is declining, the current account deficit has been contained, inflation has been moderated, the quarterly growth rate is on the rise, the exchange rate is stable, exports have increased and hundreds of projects have been unlocked," he said.
He said the current year will end with a merchandise exports of USD 326 billion, indicating a growth of 6.3 per cent.
The current account deficit that threatened to exceed last year's CAD of USD 88 billion, will be contained at USD 45 billion, which will be USD 15 billion more than the foreign exchange reserves by the end of financial year.
Last year, WPI headline inflation stood at 7.3 per cent and core inflation at 4.2 per cent. At the end of January 2014, WPI was 5.05 per cent and core inflation at 3 per cent.
"While our efforts have not been in vain, there is still some distance to go. Food inflation is still the main worry, although it has declined sharply from a high of 13.6 per cent to 6.2 per cent," he said.
Rejecting the argument of policy paralysis, he enumerated the pathbreaking decisions of the government in 2013-14 which included decontrol of sugar, gradual correction of diesel prices, rationalisation of railway fare, starting the process of issue of new bank licenses and restructuring of power distribution companies.
The Cabinet Committee on Investment (CCI) and the Project Monitoring Group were set up. Thanks to the swift decisions taken by them, by the end of January 2014, the way was cleared for completing 296 projects with an estimated project cost of Rs 6,60,000 crore.
On performance, Chidambaram gave examples of fast growth in various sectors in various sectors. India produced 263 million tons of foodgrains now as compared to 213 million tons 10 years ago.
Similar fast growths, the Minister said, have taken place in coal production, power capacity and roads.
Central Government's expenditure on education has risen to Rs 79,451 crore as compared to Rs 10,145 crore 10 years ago. Expenditure on health has risen to Rs 36,322 crore from Rs 7248 crore in a decade.
Agriculture sector has shown stellar performance in 2013-14. Foodgrain production is estimated at 263 million tons. Production of sugarcane, cotton, pulses, oilseeds and quality seeds has reached new records.
Agriculture exports are likely to cross USD 45 billion. Agriculture credit is likely to touch Rs 7,35,000 crore, exceeding the target of Rs 7,00,000 crore. In the current year, agriculture growth is estimated at 4.6 per cent. For 2014-15, the target for agriculture credit has been fixed at Rs 8 lakh crore.
Chidambaram also announced that the interest subvention scheme shall continue in 2014-15. Under this scheme, a subvention of 2 per cent and an incentive of 3 per cent for prompt payment is provided, reducing the effective rate of interest for farm loan to 4 per cent.
Eight National Investment and Manufacturing Zones have been announced and another NIMZ approved in principle.
Infrastructure has grown by valuable addition to national highways, rural roads, railway tracks and port capacity. Besides, 19 oil and gas blocks were given out for exploration in 2013-14 and 7 new airports are under consideration.
The government has accepted the principle of 'one-rank- one-pension' for defence forces for which Rs 500 crore has been allocated. Defence allocation has been enhanced by 10 per cent to Rs 2,24,000 crore.
A moratorium period for education loans taken up to March 31, 2009 has been proposed. It will benefit nearly 9 lakh student borrowers by way of reduced interest burden. Rs 2,600 crore has been allocated for it.
The government will contribute Rs 1000 crore to the Nirbhaya Fund on top of a similar grant provided last year. The Fund has also been made non-lapsable.
Rs 1,200 crore has been set apart for additional central assistance to North-Eastern states, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. A venture capital fund for scheduled caste is proposed to be set up with an initial capital of Rs 200 crore.
The restructured Integrated Child Development Scheme, which is implemented in 400 districts, will be rolled out in the remaining districts.
Rs 1000 crore is being proposed for the National Skill Development Corporation in view of its success in providing skills to the youth.