'We will work as facilitator for stakeholders', FM Sitharaman hubs at achieving target of 5 trillion dollar economy

Chennai, January 20: "The government will act as a facilitator for all stakeholders in achieving the target of five trillion dollar economy", affirmed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while addressing the Nani Palkhivala Centenary lecture in Chennai.

 

She said the target of India becoming a five trillion-dollar economy is not an abstract thinking but a practical one. Sitharaman said Modi Government believes in transformative growth and not in incremental growth. "The phenomenal rise in digital transactions in the country has inspired the whole world", she added.

 

 

Sitharaman said, the Centre will spend over a hundred lakh crore rupees on infrastructure in the next five years. Referring to the disinvestment in public sector undertakings, she said it is aimed at making sure that they are run as efficient enterprises. Finance Minister said the Indian economy is rules-based and not opaque.

 

"Abhaav and dabaav both of which are not desirable. Abhaav is inadequacy or lack of adequate presence or shortfall. You do not need a shortfall. You need a government where it should be present, where it is expected to function.", she said. "So there should not be Abhaav. Dabaav is not you want from the government. So, you want Prabhaav. It is broadly an influence, facilitation, broadly the philosophy with which it is mandated to, she said.

Noting that the government has got the mandate through the election, she said, "The mandate was spelt out in so many different ways in its manifesto. So the route towards $5 trillion is this. We have to be there to facilitate. We have to be there to make it easy. We have to be where you need us, where there is no policy reforms from government," she said.

 

On the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) implemented by the government, the union minister said the approach of the IBC was not to shut business. "IBC does not end up treating a company closed or bankrupt. It takes on the approach in having some kind of resolution where all people who exploited the company do not come back through the back door", she said. IBC was done through better management so that the institution remains alive and kicking. It is something which she wanted to carry forward from Modi 1.0 to 2.0.