New Delhi, August 1 (UNI) Stressing that the government has managed inflation well and kept it within 7 pc despite the pandemic and various global headwinds, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said that Indian economy is in much better condition than its peers and there is no question of it getting into recession or stagflation.
Replying to the debate on price rise in the Lok Sabha, the Minister defended the recent GST Council decisions to levy tax on pre-packaged and branded food items to check revenue leakage.
She reiterated that there was no GST on loose items and therefore no burden has been put on the poor people.
Highlighting various measures taken by the government, the Minister said that custom duty on various food items had been reduced to provide immediate relief to common man while duties were reduced/rationalised to cool down the prices of various raw materials used by industry, especially MSMEs.
"So, despite all the challenges we are the fastest-growing economy. Those who repeatedly talk about GST, I want to tell them that GST Council is a constitutional body where decisions are taken together by the Centre and all the states. The decision is not taken by Modi Ji. They all (members of the opposition) should speak the truth to the people. You should not say something inside the (Council) meeting and something else outside. This is my humble request," Sitharaman said while concluding her reply.
She explained the decision-making process in the Council and stated that the recent decisions were taken first by a group of officials and then a group of ministers and finally by the Council where all the states have their representatives.
Quoting significant statistics such as monthly GST collection, core sector output and manufacturing PMI, she said that Indian economy has been showing very positive signs.
"In July we have garnered second-highest GST collection at Rs 1.49 lakh crore. The manufacturing PMI is at eight-month high in July. India's core sector grew in double-digit for second month in a row in June. So, Indian economy is showing very positive signs," Sitharaman said.
The Minister took the opposition head on and said that people had voted for Prime Minister Modi and the government was delivering as per people's expectations.
As she spoke in the Lower House, members of the opposition Congress Party, DMK and NCP staged a walk-out.
Responding to issues raised by the members on the state of economy, Sitharaman said that even as many developed countries are facing the risks of slipping into recession, India continues to do well and is projected to grow at the fastest pace during the current financial year.
She noted that government has managed its debt level well and fares much better compared to its peers.
The Minister said that government debt is one of the important criteria which measures the economy. She further said that the debt to GDP ratio of many countries are in triple digits and that include Japan, Greece, Italy, Singapore, US, Spain, France and Sri Lanka whereas the central government has very consciously controlled its debt.
She also stated that the banking sector was performing well.
"As many as 4,000 banks in China are reportedly on the verge of going bankrupt. In India, the gross NPAs of scheduled commercial banks has hit a six-year low of 5.9% in FY22. So, our NPAs are improving," the Minister said.
She minced no words in attacking the previous UPA government led by the Congress Party and compared the spending on development between the UPA and the NDA government.
"Total developmental expenditure incurred by the Modi government between 2014 to 2022 is Rs 90.9 lakh crore, far higher than Rs 49.2 lakh crore spent between 2004 and 2014," she said.
She also clarified on GST levied on foodgrains and essential items which have been highlighted by the Opposition parties to put the government in dock.
"Any GST Council decision is a decision of the GST Council in which all the (state finance) ministers are present. Levy is only on pre-packaged items and not on loose items. So, there is no impact of (GST levy) on poor people. It may be stressed that loose items whether it's rice, milk or puffed rice there is no GST," she said.
She further noted that there was no difference of opinion in GoM which decided to levy GST on foodgrains and other (branded) essentials.
"You (opposition-ruled states) said 'yes' when the GST Council took the proposal (of levying tax on pre-packaged items to stop leakage). But now you are giving the impression as if the decision was taken by Modi Ji. You should not mislead the people," she said.
She rubbished the suggestion that GST has now been levied even on crematorium and related services.
"There is no GST on crematorium, funeral, burial or on mortuary services. They are fully exempt from GST," the Minister said emphatically.
She also said that GST has been levied on hospital rooms with rental of more than Rs 5,000 a day and there was no GST on emergency (medical) services.
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