Delhi election loss will not alter reforms path: Finance Minister Jaitley

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the government remained committed to attracting foreign investment for infrastructure projects as well as manufacturing

In his first public statement after the Delhi elections, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday reiterated that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s humbling defeat would not slow down reform measures and that the BJP government is determined to go ahead on the path of economic reforms.

“We believe the kind of reforms we have undertaken is certainly going to bring in investment generate jobs, improve the quality of life of people and also help us in alleviating poverty level. The fact that four elections have been won and one has not been won is absolutely no ground for believing that there will be any slowdown on the path on which we have undertaken,” Jaitley said at a joint press conference with United States Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew.

Jaitley and Lew met as part of the 5th Indo-US Economic and Financial Partnership meeting and discussed a broad range of issues, including the global macroeconomic situation, financial markets, taxation issues, banking sector, global money laundering and terror funding.

Jaitley said there were also discussions about India becoming part of Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which will lead to automatic exchange of information between two countries regarding their citizens holding financial interests in each others’ jurisdictions. 

The minister said that the government remained committed to attracting foreign investment for infrastructure projects as well as manufacturing. He said that the steps India had taken to ease the process of doing business was also discussed.

Lew, on his part, praised the recent initiatives taken by the government.

“The Modi government has taken steps to reduce fuel subsidies, allowing the government to continue reducing deficits while providing the fiscal space to make investments that will boost growth and raise employment,” he said.