India hopes to remain fastest growing economy: Arun Jaitley

The Dollar Business Bureau

Counting heavily on this year’s good monsoon, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said Thursday Indian economy is expected to remain fastest growing major economy for the current year.

“For the last two years, we were the fastest growing economy in the world. I hope this year we will retain that position,” Jaitely said, responding to a debate in the Lok Sabha.

Refuting apprehensions with respect to CSO (Central Statistics Data) data on the country’s GDP growth numbers, the finance minister said the IMF, the world’s most credible international institution, has acknowledge the GDP growth data.

India recorded a GDP growth rate of 7.2% in 2014-15 and 7.6% in 2015-16. The finance minister expressed confidence over the country’s 2016-17 growth numbers on the back of good monsoon this year following two years of consecutive drought.

“I think there is a big silver lining that after two consecutive years of bad monsoons, so far we are seeing good monsoon in the country and the result of this is that this will give rise to rural demand… This year I hope it will not only improve farm production but increase purchasing power of the rural sector,” Jaitely said.

The government also expects to meet its fiscal deficit target in the current financial year amid the buoyancy in the tax collection.

The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the first set of Supplementary Demand for Grant for the year 2016-17 aiming at additional spending of 1.03 lakh crore, an amount that includes cash outgo of Rs 20,948 crore.

Responding over an allocation of about Rs 82,000 to the Food Corporation of India (FCI), Jaitley said, it is a technical grant in the nature of loan help FCI save on interest cost.