IMF Plays Key Role at Global Economy: Arun Jaitley

Arun Jaitley, Minister of Finance, Government of India has emphasized the importance of International Monetary Fund (IMF) at the global economy, 'especially in the current context'.

In the plenary session of the International Monetary and Finance Committee (IMFC) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Lima, Peru, Jaitley said that the IMF would be constrained in meeting its obligations if the IMF Quota and governance reforms are not implemented. He expressed concern at the unprecedented delay in implementation of the 14th General Review of Quotas.

On India’s economic situation, he said the government is committed to a path of fiscal consolidation.

The current account deficit (CAD) in the country has come down substantially to around 1.3 percent of GDP in 2014-15, which was around 4.8 percent two years earlier, said Jaitley.

He added that a couple of years back, India was suffering from double-digit inflation; now the inflation has dipped to a low of 3.7 percent. He said that the country is utilizing the regime of lower oil and commodity prices to increase investments in infrastructure and irrigation.

Jaitley said that India is also undertaking comprehensive subsidy rationalisation and has successfully rolled out the largest financial inclusion initiative in the world under which around 185 million bank accounts have been opened.

Due to the large number of initiatives underway, encompassing multiple areas of intervention and reforms, he was optimistic that India would continue to record higher level of growth, observed Jaitley.

The finance minister highlighted that in the recent past, India has taken a number of measures to improve growth and increase resilience, namely liberalization of the Investment policy, new policies and procedures to improve the business climate and a transparent policy on allocation of natural resources.

He informed that major taxation reforms are on the anvil which required legislative action to become effective.