Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that India cannot afford to have “fragile coalitions” going forward. With General Elections due in less than six months’ time, Jaitley’s remarks are significant.
“The next six months would see a rise in political rhetoric with voices which may not be the expression of the real intent. The need of the hour is continuation of sound policies as against transient populism,” he said during an address to members of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on Friday.
The Finance Minister said that it was high time to formulate policies with clarity, decisive leadership, directional stability and also to establish market economy being socially conscious to ensure equitable growth. “The immediate target should be one that spells out the recipe for the next two decades; for an India where further reforms would be the only constant for aspirational people whose attitude is for change and desire for a better quality of life,” the Finance Minister further said.
Arun Jaitley hoped that if India can retain the current growth rate and global position it will be able to yield a growth rate of more than 7-8 per cent. He stressed on the importance of identifying unreformed sectors like road transportation, dealing with urbanisation, railways, focus on science and technology and research.
“India has done extremely well in infrastructure areas such as aviation and ports and it must be ensured that these success stories are not converted into challenges for the economy,” Finance Minister further added.
With the talks that Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) former Governor Urjit Patel stepped down for the central bank’s stifled autonomy, Jaitley steered clear of it. He said that the government had no role in Patel’s resignation nor it was trying to intervene into the autonomy of the RBI.
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