Press Information Bureau 

Government of India

Ministry of Finance

23-August-2015 20:01 IST

The Union Finance Minister Criticizes the Politics of Growth Obstructionism 

Corporate Tax to be Reduced Gradually to 25 Percent-Shri Jaitley 

The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley said politics of growth obstructionism is not permissible. Addressing an interactive session on Vision 2020, organized by the Indian Chamber of Commerce, in Kolkata today, he said the last session of the Parliament was disappointing as the maturity of political wisdom was put to test during the period. The Union Finance Minister spoke at length on various aspects of the economy and assured that Corporate Tax will be gradually reduced to 25 percent over the years. Advocating the need of introduction of GST, he pointed out that West Bengal has lent its support to the new regime and the state will be benefit from it. 

Identifying the priority areas of the government, Shri Jaitley said a large amount of Rs. 50,000 crore will be allocated for the irrigation sector which is very crucial for growth of agriculture. In this context he spoke about the Financial Inclusion and the Social Security Schemes introduced by the government in detail and said that the next areas of financial inclusion will include agricultural insurance. Shri Jaitley however admitted that many reforms are pending, some of which could have been completed if the Parliament session could be held properly. However, the government will try to address the concerns of the industry, he added. In this context the Union Finance Minister appreciated the role of some states that they are doing well in a number of sectors. 

A few stalwarts of business and industry from Kolkata like Shri Y.C.Deveshwar later participated in an interactive session with the Union Finance Minister.