Big reforms made India fastest emerging economy: Economic Affairs Secretary

Big reforms undertaken by the government for bolstering the economic growth and maintaining macroeconomic stability have made India one of the fastest growing major economies in the world, Economic Affairs Secretary S C Garg said.

In his address to the special event hosted by US-India Strategic Partnership Forum on Indian Economy: Prospect and Challenges' here yesterday, he said the country carried out such major reforms when the global economy was slow.

He said the launch of the GST represents a historic economic and political achievement, unprecedented in Indian tax and economic reforms, which has rekindled optimism on structural reforms.

"With the cyclical recovery in global growth amid supportive monetary conditions and the transient impact of the major structural reforms over, India will continue to perform robustly," he said.

Speaking at the G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting, Garg said digital age technologies have profound implications for policies concerning every aspect of the economy.

"It also has enormous implications for emerging markets and developing countries," he said.

He expressed that the response to such a transformation will have to shift from catch up' growth to adoption/adaption of digital technologies for development and growth.

The Secretary informed that India has started adopting policies and programmes for transforming systems of delivery of services using digital technologies and connecting every Indian with digital technology and access through Aadhaar and other such means.

Citing the example of expanding Mobile Data Access, he mentioned that India is now the largest consumer of mobile data in the world with 11 gigabytes mobile data consumption per month.

India is investing in digital technologies, encouraging private sector to adapt these technologies and also addressing the taxation related issues by introducing equalisation levy, he said.

Garg also participated in the Development Committee Ministerial Lunch Session focused on Rising Public Debt Vulnerabilities in Low-Income Developing Countries.

He stressed that in addressing the Sustainable Development Goals, the increasing debt burden in LIDCs is, clearly, a massive hindrance.

"LIDCs face challenges centered on equitable growth, resilience, finance and partnerships, and leveraging external public and private finance," he said.

To mitigate the growing debt concerns of LIDCs, he emphasized the need for IMF and World Bank, and other international organizations must develop and articulate a clear strategy for enhancing public debt transparency on both the debtor and creditor side.