Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had a special conversation with Rahul Joshi, Editor-in-Chief of Network18. His interview was taken a day after the Union Budget 2022-23 was presented in Parliament. The Finance Minister spoke on topics ranging from the government’s $5 trillion economy target to the upcoming initial public offering of state-run insurance giant LIC.
Highlights of the interview of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman:
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, there is no doubt that we should help so that the revival takes place strongly. Want to maintain this momentum and help Infra as much as possible.
The Finance Minister said that the economy needs strong support in the current era.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that PM Narendra Modi has a clear thinking about growth from the very beginning.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, only public investment on infrastructure will create an investment cycle. We thought that if the economy does well, then there are many ways to increase spending on infra, provided it is done only by paying money. We wanted it to have a better impact on the economy.
Nirmala Sitharaman said, 65-58% of the allocated capital expenditure has been used last year. Omicron accounted for capital expenditure for the first quarter of the second and third quarters. Despite the second wave of coronavirus, 68% of capital expenditure has been achieved. This will not happen this year as Omicron cases have started decreasing.
Nirmala Sitharaman said, it is possible to provide stability even in the matter of tax. We don’t want to include anything that may cause uncertainty. If you look at the tax stability, you can at least be sure that the people who created it have a motive to minimize its ill effects.
Nirmala Sitharaman said, “My commitment to disinvestment remains. Air India was a complicated subject. LIC’s IPO plan is going well. It should be this year only. Money will come from LIC’s IPO this year.”
On the Agriculture Act, the Finance Minister said that despite being passed in Parliament, the credit for withdrawing the law goes to the PM. This is what we remember when we talk of reforms.
– When asked about the legislation related to cryptocurrencies, Sitharaman replied, “Definitely a bill is coming after consultation. Don’t know when it will come or whether it will regulate crypto.”
Sitharaman said that a digital university has been proposed. “The idea is to have all these digital platforms interlinked with each other. Eventually your digital stack will need to integrate with other countries’ digital stacks,” he said.
– Where were we 7-8 years ago from now, if we keep working continuously, you will definitely reach your goal in the same time frame.
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