Inviting Swedish firms to invest in infrastructure development projects, Sitharaman said that the country is planning to invest in the infrastructure sector in the next five years.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. (Photo: IANS)
With the Gross Domestic Product falling to a 26-quarter low of 4.5 per cent in July-September and rising unemployment, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that the government is open to further reforms for making India a more attractive investment destination.
The government has taken various steps, including reduction of corporate tax, she said at India-Sweden Business Summit in Delhi. “I only can invite and assure that the Government of India is committed for further reforms in various sectors whether it is banking, mining or insurance and so on,” she said.
Addressing the Lok Sabha on Monday, Sitharaman talked about the economic slowdown and about the biggest reduction in 28 years, in which the government reduced the corporate tax rate by almost 10 percentage points in a bid to give a boost to sagging economy.
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Inviting Swedish firms to invest in infrastructure development projects, Sitharaman said that the country is planning to invest in the infrastructure sector in the next five years. “I only can invite and assure that the Government of India is committed to further reforms in various sectors whether it is banking, mining or insurance and so on. India plans to invest about Rs 1 lakh crore in the infrastructure sector in the next five years.”
“We are going through a phase of responding to challenges Indian industries are facing. Before budget 2020, we took a call that fiscal rewarding step we had to project didn’t have to wait. The corporate tax cut was taken between two budgets.” she added.
Meanwhile, the Opposition continues to question and criticise the government for its failing attempts at improving the dipping economy. On Tuesday former finance minister P Chidambaram took to twitter to express his exasperation at BJP’s idea of saving the economy.
GDP numbers are irrelevant, personal tax will be cut, import duties will be increased.
These are BJP’s ideas of reforms.
God save India’s economy.
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) December 3, 2019
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