Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, on Wednesday said financial sector reforms could be game changers for the ailing Indian economy.
The gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 4.6 percent year-on-year, only two basis points above the previous quarter, which was the lowest in four years. The minister listed major reforms bill, which needed parliament approval. “I believe that financial sector reforms can be game changers.
We know what the new game changers can be. They include the GST, the Goods and Services Tax, the Direct Taxes Code, the Insurance Laws Amendment Bill and the Uniform Financial Code, recommended by the FSLRC (Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission),” said Chidambaram here. A nationwide GST is intended to usher in a uniform market for goods and services, cut business costs and boost government revenue. But differences between states and the central government, largely over questions of fiscal autonomy, persist. Without directly blaming opposition parties, Chidambaram said consensus was stymied by political opportunism. “Each one of them requires building of a broad consensus.
My experience has been that consensus is built over several months of hard work and then consensus crumbles when it is hit by a seizure of political opportunism,” he added. India”s economic growth probably picked up slightly in the September quarter, but weak investment levels have tempered hopes that strong rural demand and a rebound in exports will drive a sustained recovery ahead of elections due early next year. (ANI)