 "No-confidence motion: India in unique position of optimism, says FM")
Union Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman stated on Thursday that India finds itself “in a rare position of being optimistic and positive”, even as global economies grapple with the dual challenges of inflation and slowdown.
She outlined measures being taken to control the price surge of specific food items, particularly tomatoes, including the import of pulses and tomatoes from neighbouring nations.
“India is in a rare position of being optimistic and positive about its future growth, after being labelled as a fragile economy by Morgan Stanley in 2013 to now getting higher ratings due to the reforms and policies of our government,” Sitharaman stated during her participation in the debate on the no-confidence motion against the incumbent government in the Lok Sabha.
She added, “In the span of nine years, our economy has witnessed substantial growth and development due to our government’s policies, even in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. Presently, we stand as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.”
Following its upgrade to ‘overweight’ status by Morgan Stanley last week, India has ascended to the top position in the brokerage’s portfolio, up from its previous rating of ‘equalweight’.
Addressing the global context, the FM remarked on the struggles of the global economy with the twin challenge of high inflation and sluggish growth.
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“While the global economy expanded by 3 per cent in 2022, the World Bank’s projection for 2023 indicates a decline to 2.1 per cent. Meanwhile, India’s gross domestic product growth for 2022-23 stands at 7.2 per cent and is projected to reach 6.5 per cent in 2023-24,” she said.
Furthermore, she noted that developed countries like the US, the UK, and the Eurozone are confronting difficult times.
“The European Central Bank and the Bank of England have both raised interest rates multiple times. Additionally, significant economies like China are grappling with issues related to consumer demand and wage stagnation,” she highlighted.
The Union minister elaborated on various measures implemented by the Bharatiya Janata Party government, drawing comparisons with the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime.
“The UPA wasted a decade because of corruption and cronyism. Today, we have transformed crises into opportunities. Take the banking sector, for example, which had to clean up the mess created under UPA rule,” she said.
Regarding curbing the price escalation of specific food items, she informed that the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India has distributed over 882,000 kilogram (kg) of tomatoes in Rajasthan, Delhi-National Capital Region, and Uttar Pradesh, with the distribution set to continue.
“Tomato prices in wholesale mandis (markets) in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have started to drop below Rs 100, and we expect this to help us,” she said.
“As of today, we have procured tomatoes from Kolar mandi to Delhi at a rate of Rs 85 per kg, and we have also commenced tomato imports from Nepal by lifting import restrictions. The first lot of tomatoes from Nepal is expected to reach Varanasi and Kanpur by Friday,” she said
Regarding pulses, she noted an increase in tur imports compared with the previous year, and a consignment from Mozambique is en route. Similarly, urad is being imported from Myanmar.
She also mentioned that there is “sufficient supply of moong and masoor”.
Additionally, 300,000 tonnes of onions have been added to the buffer stock to counter any potential price rise.
Referencing the Congress government’s ‘Garibi Hatao’ (eradicate poverty) slogan, she questioned whether it was actually realised. She asserted that there has been a transformative shift in governance, replacing terms like ‘banega, milega’ (will be done, will be achieved) with ‘mil gaya’ (has been achieved). She emphasised, “We believe in empowering all and appeasing none.”
During the same debate, she clarified the budget allocation for the proposed All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Madurai. The allocation escalated by Rs 700 crore due to delays in land acquisition, for which she held the state government accountable.