Most of the recommendations of the HR Khan Committee on Development of Corporate Bond Market in India will be implemented (by the government and the regulators) over the next six to eight months, said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
Speaking at a joint government of India-CII summit, Jaitley said, “Once that happens, we can look forward to a far deeper bond market.”
“…If we aspire to up even further our growth rates then what is it we are looking at in future? We will always be looking at those areas where deficit still exists. And there is a very large amount of deficit which still exists in Indian infrastructure. Fortunately, there is a lot of activity going on in infrastructure and we have our hands reasonable full.”
In the next few decades, besides modernisation of railways, creation of more smart cities, the need for housing, more ports and airports, renewable energy, highways and rural roads, the country, with rising aspirations, will have to look at sectors such as sanitation, healthcare, and education.
“If we make a sum total of all this it is not even possible to calculate the kind of investments which are required. “And therefore one of the areas which India looks forward to, besides FDI and other sources, is to deepen the bond market. Therefore, deepening the bond market, particularly on the retail side, has been a top priority as far as India is concerned in the last few years,” said Jaitley.
Shaktikanta Das, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, said the Khan Committee has given about 30 recommendations and it will be the government’s endeavour to implement them within a span of about six months.
“I think a few of them need legislative changes and we will examine them in the context of preparation for next year’s Budget,” he said.
Monetary Policy Committee The newly constituted six-member Monetary Policy Committee, which will set interest rates, will meet before the Reserve Bank of India’s bi-monthly policy review on October 4 and give its recommendations, said the Secretary.
“The MPC will, of course, meet before the fourth of October and the committee will give their recommendations based on which the RBI will take a decision,” he said