The Finance Secretary, Ashok Lavasa on June 22 reiterated that the recent FDI policy pronouncements are meant to create additional jobs as well as induce employment and spur up the Make-in-India with emphasis on driving investments both foreign and domestic.
Addressing the Managing Committee Members of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry here today, the Finance Secretary also exuded confidence saying that the fiscal deficit target for current year would be contained at 3.5% of GDP as current account deficit is already under control.
According to him, the government is also hopeful that with favourable prediction of IMD about good monsoon and emerging favourable political conditions towards GST, the much delayed legislation could see its smooth passage in Rajya Sabha in forthcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament.
Elaborating on Monday measures of the government of the day, the Finance Secretary said that all these measures not only have simplified and smoothened the procedural hassles for attracting investments to create economic activities that can collectively induce additional employments and jobs but also increase prospects of Make-in-India.
Lavasa further explained that despite adverse and hostile economic conditions prevailing both in internal and external world, India has been able to accelerate its growth pace with containing fiscal deficit in the recent past. “Even bad monsoon in the last two consecutive years made an adverse impact on India’s agricultural production but with consistency in its economic policy making did not allow India’s growth to slip away”, he said.
The finance secretary called upon Indian industry to correctly assess the domestic demand and accordingly begin to produce with factoring the cost of environment in their production.
On inflation, he was of the view that it is well within the control with minor aberration here and there but also felt that India needs both long term and short term strategy for pulses as in the short term, the government releases its buffer stocks and also resorts to check their rising prices. In the long term, the government should structure the MSP for pulses in such a fashion so that farmers grow more and more pulses.
The meeting was presided over by the President, PHD Chamber, Dr. Mahesh Gupta, assisting him in the chair were its Sr. Vice President, Vice President and Secretary Genral Gopal S Jiwarajka, Anil Khaitan and Saurabh Sanyal.
