We turned challenges into opportunities: Finance Minister

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said the BJP-led NDA government converted low economic growth and zero investor confidence which it inherited into opportunities as India's GDP has now zoomed to 7.6 per cent.
"Let us look at our achievement compared to last three years of the previous government when the growth had decelerated to 6.3 per cent. The growth of GDP has now accelerated to 7.6 per cent," he said during the presentation of the Budget 2016-17 proposals in the Lok Sabha.
Announcing the proposals at a time when the global economy is in a "serious condition", Jaitley said the government has brought back the economy to a high growth trajectory and India has been able to held its "ground firmly".

"Thanks to our inherent strengths and the policies of this government, a lot of confidence and hope continue to be built around India," he said.
"We accomplished this despite very unfavourable conditions and despite the fact that we inherited an economy of low growth, high inflation and zero investor confidence in the government's capability to govern. We converted these difficulties and challenges into opportunities."
Jaitley said 7.6 per cent GDP growth was possible notwithstanding the contraction of global exports by 4.4 per cent compared with 7.7 per cent growth during the last three years of the previous government.

The Economic Survey has pegged the economic growth at a conservative level of 7-7.75 per cent for the next fiscal.

The government's initiatives in the last 21 months have not only placed the economy on a faster growth trajectory, but have "bridged the trust deficit" created by the previous government, Jaitley said.
Jaitley said the Consumer Price Index based retail
inflation was at 9.4 per cent during the last three years of the UPA-Government, which has now come down to 5.4 per cent.
"Under our government, CPI inflation has come down to 5.4 per cent, providing big relief to the public. This was accomplished despite two consecutive years of monsoon shortfall of 13 per cent, compared to normal rainfall in the last three years of the previous Government," he said.

On the external situation, the finance minister said that under the present regime, India's current account deficit has declined from USD 18.4 billion in the first half of last year to USD 14.4 billion this year.
"It is projected to be 1.4 per cent of GDP at the end of this year. Our foreign exchange reserves are at the highest ever level of about USD 350 billion", Jaitley said.
Reiterating the International Monetary Fund (IMF), he said the global funding body has hailed India as a "bright spot" amidst a slowing global economy.
For the current fiscal 2015-16, IMF has projected the Indian economy to grow at 7.3 per cent and at a pace of 7.5 per cent in the successive two years.

Besides, the World Economic Forum has said that India's growth is "extraordinarily high", Jaitley added.
He stressed that India must now look ahead as the risks of further global slowdown and turbulence are mounting.
This, the Finance Minister said, complicates the task of economic management for India.
Jaitley said India must strengthen the firewalls against these risks by ensuring macro-economic stability and prudent fiscal management.
The Budget has also emphasised for a higher dependence on domestic demand and Indian markets, as the foreign markets are weak, to avert the economy from slowing down.
He said the Government will continue with the pace of economic reforms and policy initiatives to change the lives of the people for the better.