Reforms since 2014 enabled decentralisation of planning: Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said reforms brought in India since 2014 have enabled decentralisation of planning in India.

Addressing 11 Executive Directors (EDs) of the World Bank Group, representing 95 countries, she said that India is placing a focus on creating opportunities for the poor by empowering communities for equitable growth.

EDs, who are on a visit to india, called on the finance minister. They shared their key takeaways with the minister after visiting Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Lucknow.

They appreciated the fast-paced development across all sectors enabled by transformational reforms and private sector participation in India's ambition of becoming a developed country by 2047, the finance ministry said in a tweet.

They also appreciated the success achieved by India, especially in digital technology and startups, with a focus on the delivery of public goods, including water, electricity, road infrastructure etc, it said.

"The Finance Minister underlined the focus India is placing on creating opportunities for the poor by empowering communities for #EquitableGrowth and stated that the #reforms brought in India since 2014 have enabled #decentralisation of planning in India, which enabled States to set ambitious development targets and perform to their potential," it said.

The EDs appreciated the clarity of the vision of the political leadership of India. They were especially appreciative of efforts like GST, NariShakti and FASTag that are in line with the vision of fast-paced development, the tweet said.

"Union Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman emphasised the leading role India is playing on Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable, #MDBReforms, #crypto regulations and #DigitalPublicInfrastructure #DPI and stated that India would be happy to share its development experience and build capacity of counties that can benefit from India's experience," it said.