The government doesn't have a "magic wand" to fix the economy in one go and it will listen to industry sectors for solutions, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday, reacting after last week it was reported that India's Gross domestic product (GDP) grew at 5 per cent in April-June 2019, the slowest since 2013.
Various high-frequency indicators such as sales of passenger and commercial vehicles; production of capital goods, consumer durables, steel and cement; use of air travel, among others, had shown contraction, or poor growth, in the April-June period.
"We are responding to the industry requirements. Across the board there is no one particular answer that I can give, saying this is the magic wand. Sectorally what they want, we are responding," said Sitharaman as she defended her government's efforts to create jobs.
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"Every sector of the Indian economy, when it approaches us, we hear them out for solutions that they want and we respond to it. Suggestions (from them) and what would they want and what they expect from the government of India and I respond to them. I have already done (it) twice and I will do so more number of times. Every industry which has approached me I will respond," she told reporters in Chennai after meeting tax officials and industry representatives.
The government has made two major announcements to revive the economy after consulting business leaders and such dialogue will continue, she said, referring to the stimulus package announced on August 23 and the liberalised foreign direct investment (FDI) rules listed for many sectors last week.
The Narendra Modi government, in its two terms, has created jobs in the nation's informal sectors, she said, referring to the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO)'s report on employment in the country.
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"Indian informal sector employment, has not been appropriately or exhaustively documented. When we are referring to data from government organisations, like the NSSO, they talk only about the formal sector and not about the informal. In India, the nature of our economy being what it is in the informal sector is where majority of our employment is. If there is stress in the respective sectors, I am willing to hear."
Measures announced in the July 5 Union Budget are showing results in the form of banks and non-bank financial companies (NBFC) having better liquidity, said Sitharaman.
She said the automobile sector moving to produce engines and components meeting BS-VI fuel norms (from the earlier BS-IV), and that was the reason perhaps that people were not buying new vehicles.
Sitharaman said the government's decision to merge 10 state-owned banks into four will not affect jobs. She refused to comment on former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement that India was in the midst of a slowdown because of the government's mismanagement before making a comment. "I have no thoughts on what he said. He said it and I listened to it," she said.
Various high-frequency indicators such as sales of passenger and commercial vehicles; production of capital goods, consumer durables, steel and cement; use of air travel, among others, had shown contraction, or poor growth, in the April-June period.
"We are responding to the industry requirements. Across the board there is no one particular answer that I can give, saying this is the magic wand. Sectorally what they want, we are responding," said Sitharaman as she defended her government's efforts to create jobs.
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Supermoon - Ft. Russell Peters World Tour.
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ALSO READ: How technology integration, regional synergies drove bank merger plan
"Every sector of the Indian economy, when it approaches us, we hear them out for solutions that they want and we respond to it. Suggestions (from them) and what would they want and what they expect from the government of India and I respond to them. I have already done (it) twice and I will do so more number of times. Every industry which has approached me I will respond," she told reporters in Chennai after meeting tax officials and industry representatives.
The government has made two major announcements to revive the economy after consulting business leaders and such dialogue will continue, she said, referring to the stimulus package announced on August 23 and the liberalised foreign direct investment (FDI) rules listed for many sectors last week.
The Narendra Modi government, in its two terms, has created jobs in the nation's informal sectors, she said, referring to the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO)'s report on employment in the country.
ALSO READ: Foreign investors pull out Rs 5,920 cr in August despite surcharge rollback
"Indian informal sector employment, has not been appropriately or exhaustively documented. When we are referring to data from government organisations, like the NSSO, they talk only about the formal sector and not about the informal. In India, the nature of our economy being what it is in the informal sector is where majority of our employment is. If there is stress in the respective sectors, I am willing to hear."
Measures announced in the July 5 Union Budget are showing results in the form of banks and non-bank financial companies (NBFC) having better liquidity, said Sitharaman.
She said the automobile sector moving to produce engines and components meeting BS-VI fuel norms (from the earlier BS-IV), and that was the reason perhaps that people were not buying new vehicles.
Sitharaman said the government's decision to merge 10 state-owned banks into four will not affect jobs. She refused to comment on former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement that India was in the midst of a slowdown because of the government's mismanagement before making a comment. "I have no thoughts on what he said. He said it and I listened to it," she said.
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