Slowdown effect of GST, note ban has played out: Jaitley

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said the slowdown effect of demonetisation and GST roll-out on the Indian economy has played out and the country's growth is now headed towards being more balanced and sustainable.

"The Indian economy is poised for strong, sustainable and balanced growth backed by the government's strong focus on implementing structural reforms.

"There is clear evidence now that slowdown effect of demonetisation and GST has now more or less played out," Jaitley said at an interactive seminar here on 'India Opportunity' organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci).

"The implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from July 1 and its gradual complete transition, follow-up to demonetisation and enacting other structural reforms by the government would take the economy towards higher growth trajectory," he added.

Jaitley is currently on a one-week official tour to Washington D.C. to attend the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank and other associated meetings.

He is accompanied by Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel and Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg.

The Finance Minister spoke on the bold reforms carried out in India which now have created impressive opportunities in infrastructure assets resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) process and in the financial sector, the Finance Ministry said in a statement.

Further, he stated that foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to India have increased in 2016-17 over 2015-16, indicating improved global confidence in the Indian economy.

He also spoke about the interface between the global and the Indian economy, national investments and the Infrastructure Fund and reform initiatives of the government, especially to improve ease of doing business.

--IANS

mm/in/dg