Minister of Finance of India Nirmala Sitharaman has expressed optimism that her country could reach its nominal economic growth target of 10.5 per cent this fiscal year and hinted that growth was being given priority over taxing diesel vehicles, an issue that created a controversy of sought lately.
Speaking to Business Standard newspaper in an interview, Minister Sitharaman said, “I would like to believe that we will achieve the target.”
Nominal gross domestic product growth plummeted to a 10-quarter low of eight per cent in the June quarter.
Minister Sitharaman also said that stocking up of passenger vehicles by dealers to meet high demand in the upcoming festival season also suggests “activity and good buoyancy in the economy”.
India’s Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari recently remarked that he will propose an additional 10 per cent tax on diesel vehicles to reduce their production as an environment-friendly move but then took a U-turn, saying there was no such plan.
When the Finance Minister was asked about the idea of 10 per cent tax on diesel vehicles, she said she was looking at an economy that has to grow.
In another interview, Minister Sitharaman said around 22 nations were negotiating and exploring bilateral trade with India in its currency rupee.
