At a Panel on the Future of India under Prime Minister Modi’s Vision, Minister of Finance Arun Jaitley Reinforced Current Leadership’s Commitment to Fast Action, Aggressive Reforms and Building Foreign and Domestic Investment. 

DAVOS, SWITZERLAND, January 22, 2015—A panel of experts—including Mr Arun Jaitley, Minister of Finance, Information & Broadcasting and Corporate Affairs; Mr Ajay S Shiriram, President, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII); Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII; Dr Janmejaya Sinha, Chairman of The Boston Consulting Group (BCG)Asia-Pacific; and Dr Hans-Paul Buerkner, Chairman of BCG—met today to highlight India under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership and reaffirm the government’s commitment to a platform of growth, development and good governance.

Speaking at a private breakfast hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) during the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Mr  Jaitley said that the Indian people are increasingly impatient for growth and opportunities, but posited that all circumstances are now in India’s favor for business and societal growth.

“As we’ve said before, we don’t see a conflict between pro-business and pro-poor policies,” Mr Jaitley said. “Prime Minister Modi and his cabinet of ministers will not compromise on the roadmap to 8-9% growth, as only an enriched state can service the poor. Rather than focus solely on distributing existing resources, we must focus on how to increase those resources at the same time.”

The Finance Minister outlined several other policies aimed at growth:

• Aggressive tax reform. Policy that taxes are implemented once (GST), at the last stage, is expected to add 1.5% to India’s GDP and create a unified way to conduct business across the country.
• Reducing corruption. By introducing a model based on market mechanisms, the opportunity for governmental discretion is limited. 
• Increased defense spend. As one of the largest defense buyers in the world, India is committed to increasing its private defense manufacturing capabilities, through collaboration and foreign investment.
• Depositing capital into the banking system. Through 214 million home visits, banking representatives were able to ensure 99.7% of those homes have access to financial institutions. Those able to open an account (73% were not) were provided with liability and life insurance (from a Government fund) and access to a loan officer to facilitate business growth. All government assistance will be deposited directly to these open accounts.

To make progress towards Prime Minister Modi’s goal of a 20 trillion dollar economy, India must create 10 million jobs per year for the next ten years, continue to aggressively push reforms, act decisively and without hesitation and respond to inquiries from foreign investors.

“India is moving but to meet our growth plans, we’ll also need investment. Of the various options available in this environment, those that come to India and invest in us will never regret their decision”, the Finance Minister added.