 "FM Sitharaman exhorts industry to make investment for boosting growth")
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday urged the industry to come out in a big way to make investment for supporting growth battered by COVID-19 pandemic.
Addressing the CII's annual meeting, Sitharaman said the government has already taken various steps, including bringing down corporate tax rate, and predictable tax regime.
"It's time that the Indian industry comes out in a very big way because today is the time for you to show the risk-taking abilities (and) take decisions to expand...," she said.
This is the best time for Indian industry to ensure that every body whose investment is coming out of some geography are drawn towards India, she said.
"You stand up for India, you partner with them, and you open up and I can see totally new areas into which Indian industry is moving in. And I would invite all of you to take this opportunity and take the bull by its horns. The stock market is showing you the way please do follow it," she said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday had asked the domestic industry to enhance its risk-taking appetite as the country's economic growth showing signs of pick up.
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Observing that recovery has helped in enhancing resources, she said, "Revenue buoyancy has today come to a level where we are sure that this year the GST compensation will be paid to all the states in time, so that they have money in time in their hands to undertake all the developmental activities they need to take."
On fiscal deficit, she said so far the government has played responsibly on that front.
The government has projected a fiscal deficit of 6.8 per cent of the GDP for 2021-22, along with setting a glide path to reduce it to 4.5 per cent by 2025-26.
The finance minister emphasized that she would like to see India moving ahead in the direction of 'Aatmanirbharta' or self-sufficiency in a few sectors such as energy.
She encouraged private players to build capacity to help the country become self-reliant in renewable energy in order to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels.
"Reliance on renewable energy should be such that we are able to produce locally equipment that is needed to generate renewable energy," she said.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)