Nirmala Sitharaman interacts with traders, investors in Kolkata

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday held discussions with the industry leaders and trade bodies and investment bankers as part of the public outreach programme in Kolkata on the Union Budget which was presented by her on 1st of this month.

While addressing the event, the Union Minister assured that the Central government will make efforts to be in continuous contact with the stakeholders for effective governance with 'Ease of Doing Business'.

"The government will continue to be in continuous engagement with stakeholders and industry. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of New India will be successful with initiatives in entrepreneurial and Digital India arena. It will also help in effective governance and in Ease of Doing Business," she said.

Responding on the issue of scarcity of ATMs in the tea belts of Assam and West Bengal for which cashless wage payments are becoming a problem, the finance minister said the government is willing to set up ATMs in pockets where there are none.

"I know that number of ATMs is minuscule in the tea growing regions. The government is ready to set up such facilities in these areas."

Yesterday also, Sitharaman interacted with the traders in Chennai and exuded confidence that "India will get back to 8 per cent growth" and said the government is making efforts to "pursue the goals".

Notably, the year 2019 was a difficult year for the global economy with the world output growth estimated to grow at its slowest pace of 2.9 per cent since the global financial crisis of 2009, declining from a subdued 3.6 per cent in 2018 and 3.8 per cent in 2017.

Uncertainties, although declining, are still elevated due to the protectionist tendencies of China and the United States, and rising US-Iran geopolitical tensions.

Amid a weak environment for global manufacturing, trade and demand, the Indian economy slowed down with GDP growth moderating to 4.8 per cent in the first half of 2019-20, lower than 6.2 per cent in the second half of 2018-19.