Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on Thursday, urged India Inc to invest as the government alone cannot do this

“I hope the industry will understand the spirit with which the Budget is placed before you and therefore also come forward to participate in this inevitable exercise. Industry, having cleared all its debts and finances, should now be in a position to invest money to expand and grow and clearly show signs that it is now ready to receive any joint ventures for the sake of technology that it prefers to have,” she emphasised.

Her remarks come three days after the presentation of the Budget, which proposed over ₹5-lakh crore of capital expenditure during the current fiscal. She was addressing a meeting of industry chamber, the first after the Budget presentation.

Further, she stated that for providing immediate stimulus to the economy, the government will be spending in a big way in public infrastructure, and the three large areas where big-ticket expenditure will happen include infrastructure, health and agriculture. “Government alone, even if it brings bags full of money, cannot just meet the demand of the growing and aspirational India,” she said.

Speaking on the setting up of Development Financial Institutions (DFI), Sitharaman said that the government will enable one DFI and that the entire financing of long-term infrastructure will happen in a very market driven way. That itself will bring in efficiency, she added.

According to her, the government has taken a confident, trustworthy and transparent accounting statement in the Budget. “There is no patching up or white-washing. It has an honest attempt to give honest statement of the government’s finances and with the reforms announced along with the stimulus. It is clear that this government is not sitting cautiously, and it is coming forward with faith in Indian industry and business leaders,” added the Finance Minister.

She mentioned that the Budget mark a clear directional change for the Indian economy, and that directional change is not what the government has offered as a sudden response, but it was something that was preoccupying Indian minds for over 30 years.

She said that this Budget is trying to raise resources that are non-tax resources at a time when we need a lot of money to spend. “It’s a Budget which raises resources, but not on the back of increased taxation. There is a directional change in the Budget which is so distinct that it will fuel the entrepreneurial spirit which the Indians show given the right opportunities,” she added.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW