Economic measures to show positive outcome in long-term: Jaitley

The Dollar Business Bureau

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Thursday that the positive effect of the economic measures that has been taken by the current government would be visible in the medium to long-term.

Jaitley said that in spite of slowdown globally and the previous government leaving the country among the ‘Fragile Five’ nations of the world in 2014, the current government, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, not only undertook huge structural reforms but it also made the country a fastest-growing economy, consecutively for three years. 

“Some of the structural reforms undertaken by the government were attempted by the previous dispensation too, but it failed to do so because of several reasons,” the Minister said in the Rajya Sabha while replying to a question on the state of India’s economy.

Admitting that economy is facing challenges, Jaitley said that the country’s economy has been affected by the global slowdown. However, when the global economy booms India also gets benefitted, as happened in 2003. 

The members of opposition parties attacked the government on the growing unemployment in the country and on a decline in all the major economic parameters in the past three-and-a-half years.

Defying the charges, Finance Minister mentioned Goods and Services Tax (GST) rollout, containing inflation, and public sector banks recapitalisation as key policy initiatives of the Modi-led government.

“All the steps we have taken, we have also paid price in the short-term. But I want to tell you that in the medium and long-term, these steps would be seen on the economy of the country and coming generations will remember that due to these steps a new economic history of the country has been written,” he said.

On the questions being raised over the decline in GDP growth after note ban, Jaitley said that although India’s economy grew at 7-8% rate, people aspire for more.

“The beauty of this country is and I consider it as a strength of this country is that at even a good 7-8% growth rate, India is not a satisfied nation. We are not satisfied even if we are highest in the world, we aspire for more. That's an aspirational India, it is a good sign,” he said.

On GST, the Minister said in the first three months there would have been some issues but the economy will benefit in the medium and long-term.

“Structural reforms have a price, it bottoms itself out and then the curve begins to move up and the signs of that are beginning to come,” he added.