Initiatives being taken by the government to boost investments and introduce tax reforms will lead to 9-10 per cent economic growth in the coming years, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said today.
Initiatives being taken by the government to boost investments and introduce tax reforms will lead to 9-10 per cent economic growth in the coming years, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said today.
"The cumulative impact of these (initiatives), I believe, will increase our capacity to grow is more than 9 per cent, it is 10 per cent," he said in an interview to Doordarshan.
Significant work is being done in the infrastructure as well as agriculture sectors and the government is making special efforts to tackle farmers issues, particularly irrigation, he added.
Jaitley said the government has created transparent environment and has given up discretionary powers to dole out incentives to corporates.
"We do not hear the word corruption in this government. If you have spectrum, coal, mine reserves auction them. The money that comes from auctioning of coal and mines they go to the states from where the reserves were generated," he said.
Indian economy is expected to grow at 8-8.5 per cent in the current fiscal, up from 7.4 per cent estimated in previous financial year. On Goods and Services Tax, Jaitley said: "GST we are trying to bring."
According to estimates, the implementation of GST - the indirect taxes reform - will add 1-2 per cent to India's GDP.
Touted as the biggest reform in indirect taxation, GST will subsume central excise, state VAT, entertainment tax, octroi, entry tax, luxury tax and purchase tax on goods and services to ensure seamless transfer of goods and services.
The bill on GST was introduced in the Lok Sabha in December.
Jaitley said India is foremost among a large number of countries that are taking interest in the G-20 initiative on automatic transmission of information with regard to monetary transaction.
"By 2017, the target is that all transactions would become transparent. Each country would go out of way to cooperate with us...by 2017 are going to make it extremely risky for anybody to have unlawful assets or unlawful transaction of money," he added.
The Finance Minister said India has to prepare people for change which would come into effect from 2017.
The Supreme Court had appointed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) which is keeping a close eye on the system that the government is setting up and enhancing the ability to investigate those cases.
Jaitley said: "It's quite a precarious situation for the offenders as we watch the run up to 2017 with each passing day, situation would become precarious.
"It is for this reason steps we have been taking some at the instance of SIT and some at our own initiative steps to squeeze unlawful assets, unlawful money transaction or black money transaction with in the country or outside the country, they hurt the whole system."
If the black money gets included in the system, the growth rate would be higher, taxes would be higher and also the ability to lower tax rate would be higher, he said.
"Therefore, in the larger public interest, not transacting in black money now becomes a way of life. It would probably (help) you sleep well and protect you from penal consequences," he said.
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