 "Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley briefing the media with West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra, during inauguration of GSTN meeting with all states Finance Ministers of India, in Kolkata")
Calling India a "sweet spot" in the subdued global economy, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday said indication of "good rains" will further boost the country's growth momentum.
"This time, it looks like rains are going to be good and India can grow very well. There are signs (for that)," he said addressing the first national minerals & mining conclave here.
India clocked 7.6% growth rate in 2015-16 when there was a global slowdown, and deficient rainfall for two years in a row, he said.
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Jaitley said India is a "sweet spot" in the global economy and "growth outlook looks much better with indications of good rains this year".
Jaitley added that at a time when the global economy is slow, India is an example with its higher growth rate.
"When the going is good everybody grows. But, at such a time (global downturn) becoming the fastest growing economy is an example in itself. It shows that we are ready and capable to deal with such changes and perform," he noted.
On the impact of Britain exiting the European Union, he said, "We were the least impacted. People feared that currency and stock markets will crash, but we saw the impact for just one day."
This indicates the robustness of the Indian economy and displays its capacity to handle changes, Jaitley said.
On the minerals and mining sector in the country, the Minister said that government's initiatives in the sector are showing results and the industry is slowly coming out of the rut.
"This is the beginning and then too it is showing growth. Global growth is weak and when the global growth comes back to good levels then this experiment will also grow further," he added.
Jaitley said that globally, including in India, the commodities market has witnessed a rough time with prices hitting rock bottom. "Resource-based economies globally had a rough time and prices are suppressed. But this will not go on for long. It will change.
Jaitley said that this is the best time to invest in the minerals exploration sector for the country.
Exploration of resource is very important as it will encourage investors to come to India. It will help society, industry and others.
"This (exploration) will have a cascading impact on the society, economy as infra will expand, jobs will grow like it has happened in Australia," Jaitley said.
The minister invited the private sector as well as foreign investors to invest in India's mining sector at a time when the industry is down.
"Prices are suppressed. This is a cycle and it will change. If investors invest today during the low time then they will reap huge profits in the future when the sector will grow as you all know that the country will grow further," he advised the gathering here.
Jaitley said that the government has made the process of leasing of coal, minerals and oil & gas assets very transparent.
"2G scam dented India's image. Supreme Court said that prices of these resources coal, minerals, spectrum, etc will be decided through the market.
"So the Prime Minister decided that Government will make policies that are transparent. Like for coal and mineral mines through auction. Same for spectrum, radio FM channels. Same for oil fields. We changed the old policies and decided market will decide the price through auction," he added.
Jaitley said the irony of our times is that the areas that are rich in natural resources are also the areas where the people are poor.
"In places where there are more tribals there is more poverty. Our policies will help these people. New MMDR Act, DMF, etc will go a long way in addressing the issues of development," he said.
