JOIN USFM bats for living within ones means to be in shipshape
The Narendra Modi-led government should target a prudent fiscal policy by rationalising expenses and not living on borrowed money, according to finance minister Arun Jaitley.
“One of the areas where we are trying to rationalise is the expenditure as far as the government is concerned, because we do not want the government indefinitely to live on borrowed money. The whole concept of spending beyond your means and leaving the next generation in debt in order to repay what we are overspending today is never a prudent fiscal policy,” Jaitley said while addressing businessmen at a conference in Mumbai.
“As far as the approach of the government of India is concerned, we have told each one of the states, irrespective of its political complexion, that the government is going to very actively support those states in every step they take for economic development. It is only when the states progress that India can prosper,” Jaitley added.
Jaitley also said the government is making every possible efforts to make the country investor-friendly by changing policies, especially related to taxation. “Our taxation policy was not exactly that investor-friendly. In the last few months we have made huge efforts to smoothen tax disputes and those disputes which had given Indian revenue structure a bad name,” Jaitley said.
“I have always believed that where taxes are to be paid, taxes will be collected. But no unfair effort should be made by the state so that investors are unnecessarily harassed. We have set up mechanisms which are extremely investor-friendly. We encourage investors rather than discourage them from investing in India,” Jaitley added.
On Maharashtra, the finance minister said there are many avenues for growth in the state.
“Maharashtra has huge areas where it can grow, be it the coastline, and the potential to develop new ports, particularly minor ports. There is a spread of industrial corridor which is extremely desirable in Maharashtra. Instead of having concentrated industrial development in one region, along the highways itself if we have a narrow strip of industrial corridor, the fruits of that can be felt by all those living there," Jaitley said.