Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on One Year of Narendra Modi Government

[micky]

New Delhi:
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today addressed the media on first anniversary of the Narendra Modi government where he said that the quick decision-making in the face of obstructionism was a hallmark of his government.

Here are the highlights of Mr Jaitley's press conference:

This 1 year shows the direction in which this government is working under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Not only in India, but in the entire world, the respect for India and the PM Modi has increased
The PM has visited 18 countries and India has been able to achieve a unique place

In Iraq, Maldives and Nepal when there was trouble, India left its mark through its diplomacy and foreign policy
India has occupied a pre-eminent place in the global arena

Initiatives undertaken in sectors such as power, coal and mining are noteworthy; they show a transparent model for reforms
There was a general environment of gloom a year ago. That has been replaced by hope and excitement.

The restlessness is to grow even faster which is the real potential of India
Decisiveness, even in the face of obstructionism, has been a hallmark of this government

Expansion of space in Jammu and Kashmir for mainstream political parties is a major achievement for the nation
Decisions are being taken in the direction which augment growth and promote development

There must be transparency in governance
Governance should be on the basis of principles and not personalities

People felt that the decision making process of government of India was so controversial and discretionary that even investors were prosecuted. That air has been cleared by the transparency of this government.

We are in the process of creating history by bringing about the most important indirect tax reform - the GST
High taxation rates are never investor or economy friendly
The government has taken measures to bring direct taxation rates to globally competitive levels

We are working in the direction of resolving legacy issues plaguing taxation
There is great cohesiveness in the government

A very important highlight of this government has been to give a corruption-free administration to this country
Another important feature of this government has been to strengthen the federal structure of India

Overwhelming support of regional parties is directly attributable to the attitude of the central government towards the state
The NITI Aayog has been constituted as an important pillar of the government's initiative to strengthen federalism
Management of the fiscal deficit and quality of that deficit are equally important

The abuse of investigative agencies is now a thing of the past
We have now entered the second stage where the capacity to spend the money must increase

Our priorities in the next session of Parliament will be the passage of GST and Land bills
Government has a clear roadmap for the coming year
Important parametres like fiscal and current account deficits, growth rate, revenue figures, etc have stabilised.

The disinvestment proceeds in the last year has been the largest ever in a single year
Laws to squeeze black money has been introduced in Parliament

We are one of the fastest growing economies of the world but we are not satisfied with this
The banking sector was under a lot of pressure due to the global slowdown, we have professionalised appointments to bank boards
Will continue to squeeze black money generation by passing more legislation in coming year

This has shown results by way of reduction in Non-Performing Assets. The NPAs have started coming down in the quarter that ended in March.
In the coming years, government will increase spending in irrigation and rural infrastructure

The new insurance schemes launched by the Government have reached 7.5 crore people in a few weeks
The insurance schemes will bring the benefits of insurance to the common man
India is an unpensioned society, only 11 % have pension... government has tried to increase this number

MUDRA Bank will bring finance to 5.7 crore small entrepreneurs
Every department has been working overtime in this last one year. It has been a directional year and direction at a very fast pace.
Government will make all endeavor to keep supporting legislations and IT support network to implement GST from April 1, 2016

Government will make very effort to ensure there is no delay in implementation of GST

Proposals which have been cleared by the Cabinet are known to you. I have got umpteen proposals of over Rs 50,000 crore
Target of all is more then Rs 69,000 crore

Some ministries have approached me... Disinvestment secretary will be looking after that

Mr Jaitley takes a dig at Rahul Gandhi:

Going for vacation for 55 days is one kind of a foreign trip and state visits representing the country are completely different
2013 land bill had impediments to growth of rural infrastructure and we have sought to remove those in 2015

Rupee should be market-determined, it should find its own level and its real strength should be reflected
18% impact of oil prices coming down in the export basket also. Global slowdown also has a direct impact on exports
India has a potential to touch double digit growth

There are competing economies in the world which are not doing so well. We can be natural recipients of a lot of international funds
When we obstruct the passage of laws, we must realise it is the journey to 10% growth we are obstructing

The principal opposition party has positioned itself against growth and development; they must reconsider their position
Good governance always has to blended with clever politics and we are conscious of this
We are conscious of even our past experiences and we have learnt from them

 

[Guynextdoor2]

 

[micky]

i thought you grown up???????????

i posted wronly in the defence section, is there any way to move this.....

 

[WAR-rior]

It's OK to have problems with the opposition when they really do well.

 

[Guynextdoor2]

It's OK to have problems with the opposition when they really do well.

http://www.economist.com/news/leade...?fsrc=scn/fb/tl/img/cover/st/indiasonemanband

As welcome as this is, it sells India short. Mr Modi is making two mistakes. The first is to think that time is on his side and that big unpopular decisions can wait, perhaps until he has control of the upper house as well as the lower one. That rests on a delusion among Indian leaders that they must consolidate power first and reform later. In fact a brief period exists in which to get change going, early in the parliamentary term.

Mr Modi already faces twinges of popular discontent. Surly voters drummed his party out in state elections in Delhi. Some dislike his attention to diplomacy overseas. This week he wrapped up a trip to China, Mongolia and South Korea, completing 52 days abroad in 18 countries over the past year. Others are put off by his narcissism, embarrassed that he met America’s president, Barack Obama, wearing a dark suit with all 22 letters of his name stitched over and over into its golden pinstripe. As he cracks down on groups like Greenpeace, some complain of his authoritarian streak.

 

[micky]

above all you can only see this???????????????

 

[WAR-rior]

http://www.economist.com/news/leade...?fsrc=scn/fb/tl/img/cover/st/indiasonemanband

As welcome as this is, it sells India short. Mr Modi is making two mistakes. The first is to think that time is on his side and that big unpopular decisions can wait, perhaps until he has control of the upper house as well as the lower one. That rests on a delusion among Indian leaders that they must consolidate power first and reform later. In fact a brief period exists in which to get change going, early in the parliamentary term.

Mr Modi already faces twinges of popular discontent. Surly voters drummed his party out in state elections in Delhi. Some dislike his attention to diplomacy overseas. This week he wrapped up a trip to China, Mongolia and South Korea, completing 52 days abroad in 18 countries over the past year. Others are put off by his narcissism, embarrassed that he met America’s president, Barack Obama, wearing a dark suit with all 22 letters of his name stitched over and over into its golden pinstripe. As he cracks down on groups like Greenpeace, some complain of his authoritarian streak.

You would be the one of those dumb brigade who thinks Modi traveling overseas is bad for the country and he being in India will do multiple wonders.

Don't you see, everybody understands desperation of opposition with Modi style. Modi came to power in pretex of development and without foreign investment it's not possible. So he's doing exactly as per plans. He has his whole cabinet to work for internal issues if he's on national duty abroad. What do you want Modi to do? Be in India and do what? Garba? Or your papa will bring investments?

It's Congress which is the culprit who even stop national importance bills just for their existence even if it stops Indian growth. How do you explain that?

 

[Guynextdoor2]

You would be the one of those dumb brigade who thinks Modi traveling overseas is bad for the country and he being in India will do multiple wonders.

Don't you see, everybody understands desperation of opposition with Modi style. Modi came to power in pretex of development and without foreign investment it's not possible. So he's doing exactly as per plans. He has his whole cabinet to work for internal issues if he's on national duty abroad. What do you want Modi to do? Be in India and do what? Garba? Or your papa will bring investments?

It's Congress which is the culprit who even stop national importance bills just for their existence even if it stops Indian growth. How do you explain that?

Excepting Modi style hasn't really delivered muc. And yes, traveling too much does dilute your authority. There is a reason why you have an FM- she's there not only to fix your schedule when you travel abroad.

 

[WAR-rior]

Excepting Modi style hasn't really delivered muc. And yes, traveling too much does dilute your authority. There is a reason why you have an FM- she's there not only to fix your schedule when you travel abroad.

Expecting Modi style to deliver in 1/5 of the mandate is outright desperate and naturally Congressi.

What Modi is doing is not MEA job. It's going round the world and creating relationships which the head of the state does. Dint be surprised if you suddenly see and of Modis overseas travel after covering all countries for once. I am simply estonished at your inference of Modi visits. Seems you understand all by still wanna oppose him only coz congress can't digest the gang rape of last year.

But its OK. People are proud of what Modi is trying to do for the country in his tours. Now congress will definitely be burning coz he's ripping them apart on foreign soil. Whether he is right or wrong can be debated but that doesn't mean his overseas travels are useless.

 

[Guynextdoor2]

Expecting Modi style to deliver in 1/5 of the mandate is outright desperate and naturally Congressi.

What Modi is doing is not MEA job. It's going round the world and creating relationships which the head of the state does. Dint be surprised if you suddenly see and of Modis overseas travel after covering all countries for once. I am simply estonished at your inference of Modi visits. Seems you understand all by still wanna oppose him only coz congress can't digest the gang rape of last year.

But its OK. People are proud of what Modi is trying to do for the country in his tours. Now congress will definitely be burning coz he's ripping them apart on foreign soil. Whether he is right or wrong can be debated but that doesn't mean his overseas travels are useless.

his budgets flopped, everyone from Industry to world leading corporations are fed up with him. Farmers don't like him and the economy has been taking an enormous thrashing. And no, UPA 2 'problems' don't need years of cleaning up. He's screwing up.

 

[WAR-rior]

his budgets flopped, everyone from Industry to world leading corporations are fed up with him. Farmers don't like him and the economy has been taking an enormous thrashing. And no, UPA 2 'problems' don't need years of cleaning up. He's screwing up.

That's your personal assumptions. If what you said is true then BJP will lose badly in Bihar elections even after the janta dal merger. Lets see who is right.

 

[Guynextdoor2]

That's your personal assumptions. If what you said is true then BJP will lose badly in Bihar elections even after the janta dal merger. Lets see who is right.

That's why idnustrialists, businessmen, economists all think of him as a useless showboat? That's why psephologists now believe he'll get only 100 seats if he stood for elections today?

Whether you think he'll get only 100 or not, you cannot deny that his numbers will be nowhere close to what he got only a year ago. Meanwhile he's wasting time playing vengeance games with Delhi CM instead of accepting the mandate and letting AAP govern there and focus instead on national issues.

 

[WAR-rior]

That's why idnustrialists, businessmen, economists all think of him as a useless showboat? That's why psephologists now believe he'll get only 100 seats if he stood for elections today?

Whether you think he'll get only 100 or not, you cannot deny that his numbers will be nowhere close to what he got only a year ago. Meanwhile he's wasting time playing vengeance games with Delhi CM instead of accepting the mandate and letting AAP govern there and focus instead on national issues.

Ok. Be happy with the perception. For me, he's my PM for another 4 years. I will think then if I want to vote him again. Til then everything is irrelevant. If he's mistaken somewhere he will pay the price. As simple as it gets.

 

[noksss]

Mr Jaitley takes a dig at Rahul Gandhi:
Going for vacation for 55 days is one kind of a foreign trip and state visits representing the country are completely different