Technology employed for efficiency
Technology was being increasingly employed to impart efficiency in expending fund and space technology was being deployed to geo-map the creation of assets on the ground, said Ashok Lavasa, Finance and Expenditure Secretary, Finance Ministry.
Addressing the National Executive Committee Meeting of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on 4 Feb 2017, he said this would help in framing an outcome budget.
Once, every two years of the duration of a government scheme, an evaluation would be done on the way funds were being spent, he disclosed.
Lavasa described the Budget as progressive without being high sounding; pragmatic without being conservative and people-oriented without being populist.
Shaktikanta Das, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs in the Finance Ministry, maintained the impact on demonetization on growth would be very transient.
He assured it would not spill over to the next year which would see a growth of 7 per cent plus and the economy would continue to do well thereafter.
In spite of the stronger global headwinds, India remained buoyant, emphasized Shaktikanta Das.
He stressed that the government had stuck to its commitment with a progressive outlook.
This is seen by avoidance of retrospectivity in taxation, targeting of government support through Aadhar, reforms in agriculture, especially the model law on contract framing, UGC reforms, proposed amendments to the Airports Authority Act, metro development to harness private investment and skills and integration of spot and derivative markets to provide remunerative prices to farmers, he elaborated.
Hasmukh Adhia, the Ministry’s Secretary for Department of Revenue addressed the issue of India’s corporate income tax not being globally competitive,
Adhia explained that the government had limited resources and therefore moderation in corporate income tax rate has to be seen in the context of a concomitant expansion of the tax net.
On Goods and Services Tax (GST), he said that it was well on track with the Centre and State Governments on board and it is hoped that on July 1, 2017, GST will become a reality. fii-news.com
