Raipur: Calling India a “sweet spot” in the subdued global economy, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday said indication of “good rains” will further boost the country’s growth momentum.
“This time, it looks like rains are going to be good and India can grow very well. There are signs (for that),” he said addressing the first national minerals & mining conclave here.
India clocked 7.6 per cent growth rate in 2015-16 when there was a global slowdown, and deficient rainfall for two years in a row, he said.
Jaitley said India is a “sweet spot” in the global economy and “growth outlook looks much better with indications of good rains this year”.
The Finance Minister added that at a time when the global economy is slow, India is an example with its higher growth rate.
“When the going is good everybody grows. But, at such a time (global downturn) becoming the fastest growing economy is an example in itself. It shows that we are ready and capable to deal with such changes and perform,” he noted.
On the impact of Britain exiting the European Union, the finance minister said, “We were the least impacted.
People feared that currency and stock markets will crash, but we saw the impact for just one day.”
This indicates the robustness of the Indian economy and displays its capacity to handle changes, Jaitley said.
On the minerals and mining sector in the country, the Minister said that government’s initiatives in the sector are showing results and the industry is slowly coming out of the rut.
“This is the beginning and then too it is showing growth. Global growth is weak and when the global growth comes back to good levels then this experiment will also grow further,” he added.
The Finance Minister said that globally, including in India, the commodities market has witnessed a rough time with prices hitting rock bottom.
“Resource-based economies globally had a rough time and prices are suppressed.
But this will not go on for long. It will change.” (PTI)
