Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha today exuded confidence that India will be among top 100 countries in the World Bank's list of ease of doing business ranking next year.
India now ranks 130 out of 189 countries in the ease of doing business, moving up 12 places from last year, as per the World Bank report released last month.
"We have moved up 12 ranks in the ease of doing business ...This ranking was based on may 2015 and many of the important initiatives that we have taken are only now starting to bear fruits.
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"So we are very hopeful that next year when ease of doing business ranking comes we will have moved from 130 to being in top 100," Sinha said.
He was speaking at the Karur Vysya Bank - Dun & Bradstreet SME Business Excellence Awards 2015 function here.
Sinha further said if the Indian economy grows at 8 per cent, "We can easily double our economy to USD 4-5 trillion over next 10 years".
Indian economy is currently pegged at USD 2 trillion.
The Finance Ministry has pegged the growth rate for the financial year 2015-16 at around 8.1-8.5 per cent, which now looks difficult to achieve as the growth in the first quarter worked out to be around 7 per cent.
Sinha said the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre was "pro-poor and "pro-market".
"If business prospers then only we can alleviate poverty," he added.
Sinha said the Winter Session of Parliament has been "very
disappointing" as the expectation of the government was to pass the GST constitution amendment bill.
"There was a very broad consensus across all parties. Unfortunately, the Congress party has decided it wants to wreck the Indian economy... We are all paying the price for that and the collateral damage is very enormous," he said.
Sinha said the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2015 which seeks to provide an easy exit option for insolvent and sick companies, has been referred to a 30-member Joint Select Committee of the members of Parliament for further scrutiny.
He said there was delay in many legislation because after approval of a Bill by the Standing Committee of Parliament, Rajya Sabha would again send it to another Committee.
In order to expedite the process, bankruptcy code has been referred to a a joint select committee so that there could be a combined report taking into account the suggestions and inputs from members of both houses.
"With joint committee's report in hand by the end of the first leg of the budget session...Our expectation would be to get the Bankruptcy Bill passed (in the second leg of the budget session)," Sinha added.
He said the government is hopeful that both the GST as well as bankruptcy code would be passed in the Budget session.
"If all parties work together to think about the interest of the nation, rather than pursuing their vested interest, then we will be in a situation where we will be able to give double booster shot to the economy with GST Constitution Amendment passed as well as Bankruptcy," Sinha said.
He said the solution offered by the government on Congress objections to GST bill are "very reasonable".
"Any party that sees merit in logical argument would very quickly accept what we are suggesting as solution. If we have a meeting with the minds of opposition on substance and not on politics, then I don't see any reason why the Constitution Amendment cannot be passed in the budget session," he said.
The Congress has been opposing the GST Constitution Amendment Bill on three grounds. They want the GST rate to be prescribed in the bill, to which the government says tax rates cannot be 'cast in stone'.
The Congress has also been demanding for scrapping of 1 per cent additional tax for inter-state movement of goods and services, which the government has hinted at agreeing to.
Congress has also suggested a Supreme Court adjudicating disputes between states. The bill proposes GST Council to settle disputes and if it is not addressed even there, then the council itself will prepare a redressal mechanism.
Talking about the fiscal consolidation, Sinha said the government is committed to the roadmap. The government proposes to lower fiscal deficit to 3.9 per cent in current fiscal and further to 3.5 per cent in 2016-17. Deficit was 4 per cent in last fiscal.
