नवीनतम
GST reforms boost economic activity: Union Ministers
NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: The GST reforms have shown a remarkable impact on India's economy, and the expected benefits have been passed on to the consumers, said Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, citing official figures, during the 'GST Bachat Utsav' press conference on Saturday in New Delhi. Union Ministers Piyush Goyal and Ashwini Vaishnaw also addressed the media during the joint press conference.
Sitharaman stated that since 22 September, the Finance Ministry has been getting information from the zonal levels on the ground-level implementation of the new reforms. "We have been monitoring particularly 54 daily use items -- the tax benefit has been passed on to the consumers across items. There are a couple of items where there was a benefit, but not to the expected level (for example, the case of Portland variety of cement)."
She added that the rate reduction has actually reached the common people. Since September 22, three-wheeler dispatches increased, two-wheeler sales increased, and passenger vehicle dispatches increased, among other goods. "For instance, Vijay Sales saw more than a 20% increase during the Navaratri sales. Similar is the case of the LG company," said the Minister.
Ashwini Vaishnaw said, "Record sales of electronics compared to the previous Navratri. Overall sales have increased by 20 to 25% sales." he added that the GST reforms resulted in deflation in food prices.
According to the Union Railway Minister, other achievements include:
* 25 lakh people are being employed in the electronics sector.
* India has surpassed our neighbours in supplying Mobile phones to the US.
* Private investment is coming in a big way because of the reforms.
Sitharaman stated that since 22 September, the Finance Ministry has been getting information from the zonal levels. "We have been monitoring particularly 54 daily use items -- the tax benefit has been passed on to the consumers across items. There are a couple of items where there was a benefit, but not to the expected level (for example, the case of Portland variety of cement)."
She added that the rate reduction has actually reached the common people. Since September 22, three-wheeler dispatches increased, two-wheeler sales increased, and passenger vehicle dispatches increased. "Vijay Sales saw more than a 20% increase during the Navaratri sales. Similar is the case of the LG company," said the Minister.
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said, "Despite the international difficulties, in a very volatile, very turbulent international environment, India is progressing so rapidly that even the IMF had to revise its forecast upward to 6.6 per cent growth this year. In the first quarter, we saw a historic growth of 7.8 per cent this year."
Goyal added that the Ministry of Finance, the Reserve Bank of India, and the Monetary Fiscal Policy are taking consistent steps to ensure that India is not affected by inflation. "Last month, the lowest inflation rate in eight years was 1.5%. We all saw that after 17-18 years, S&P revised India's rating and raised it one notch, maintaining a stable outlook. Similar results were observed in the general market. Now, take a small example: car sales. Maruti Suzuki sold 165,000 vehicles in just eight days. The first eight days of Navratri," said Goyal.
