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29 Mar 2024, Edition - 3181, Friday

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Coimbatore

Country poised to become major economic power, says Vice-President

Covai Post Network

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Coimbatore : India is on the threshold of becoming one of the major economic powers and the private sector can play a huge role in accelerating the growth and development of the country, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu said.

Reformative measures like the introduction of GST would improve the economy in the long run, though there might be some teething problems. In the end, such reforms would also benefit consumers, Naidu, while unveiling the logo of 90th year celebrations of local chapter of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry late on Tuesday.

With various measures taken by the Government to step up economic growth, including FDI in various sectors and given the strong macro-economic fundamentals, the country would continue to grow steadily, he said.

“India has now emerged as one of the fastest growing economies in the world. If this trend and momentum continues, India is poised to become the largest economy in the next 10-15 years,+ Naidu said. “We in India are all committed to build a $5-trillion economy by 2025, making India the third largest consumer market in the world.

“The latest report of the World Bank says the economy is projected to grow at 7.3 per cent in 2018-19 and 7.5 per cent in the next two years,” he said.

IMF forecast that India would grow at more than 7 per cent in 2018 and 2019, ahead of other major economies, Naidu said. The country climbed 30 places in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business Index this year. The policy initiatives of the Centre like Make in India, Skill India, Digital India, Smart Cities and Startup India were opening up new opportunities, he said, adding that the country had seen a strong global confidence in the India story with a surge in FDIs which reached over $62 billion in 2017-18.

The Government had taken several measures to cut down red tapism, improve the ease of doing business, attract more investments and create abusiness-friendly environment, he said.

Demonetisation and the introduction of GST were landmark initiatives aimed at ensuring transparency, eliminating parallel
economy and fetching increased revenue to the exchequer.

These had led to change in the attitude of the people as evidenced by increased tax compliance. Similarly, bankruptcy and insolvency code and the measures taken to unearth black money and curb corruption would further improve the economy, he said.

“As a matter-of-fact, chambers like yours should promote tax compliance and launch campaigns against corruption and black money. It should be remembered that improved collection of taxes will only enable the Government spend more on developmental activities and welfare of the people,” Naidu said.

However, every reform must have a human face and the fruits of the reforms must reach the poorest sections of the society, he added.

“The initiatives taken up by the Union Government such as Jan-Dhan Yojana are aimed at empowering the poor and putting an end to their financial inclusion. Commerce and industry bodies like yours must chip in to see that nobody is left behind in the financial inclusion initiative,” he said.

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