Indian economy to grow at 8%: Jaitley
New Delhi, Sep 25 : Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said the new insolvency law, indirect tax regime and demonetization will help drive India's growth rate and sustain it at 8 per cent.
He added that there was a need to trust the banking system for meeting the needs of the economy and asked banks to, in turn, ensure clean lending to justify the trust reposed in them.
"Banks must strive to be seen always as institutions of clean and prudent lending," he said at the annual review meeting of the public sector banks here.
Jaitley said the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), Goods and Services Tax (GST), demonetization and digital payments had enabled better assessment of financial capacity and risks which, coupled with inclusive growth, had unlocked the purchasing power which would drive India's growth.
He said this should help India sustain a growth rate of around 8 per cent, an official statement said.
"A growing economy will also help banks grow in strength," he said.
Jaitley underscored the need to have trust and confidence in the banking system as a necessary precondition for meeting the needs of the economy.
"With the recent amendment to the Prevention of Corruption Act, there now need not be any apprehension in the minds of bankers in supporting investments that are in the best interests of the economy, the nation and the banks," he said.
He noted that the perception regarding the health of PSBs had become more positive as banks had posted positive results in terms of resolution, recovery, provisioning and credit growth.
At the same time, he exhorted the banks to ensure all steps at their end to ensure clean lending and effective action in cases of fraud and wilful default, the Finance Ministry statement said.
Noting the positive results from the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code mechanism, Jaitley flagged the need to assess and revisit the efficacy of the Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT) mechanism, particularly in view of the long time taken in disposal of cases.
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Time has come to implement Women's Reservation Act: PM Modi's letter to LS, RS floor leaders
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New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the time has come for the implementation of the Women's Reservation Act in its true spirit and the 2029 Lok Sabha elections and Assembly elections are conducted with the quota for women in place.
In a letter to the floor leaders of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, ahead of the three-day special sittings of Parliament, Modi also asked all members to come together in one voice to pass the amendments to the women's reservation law, officially known as Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam.
"After extensive deliberations, we have reached the conclusion that the time has now come to implement the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam in its true spirit across the country.
"It is imperative that the 2029 Lok Sabha elections and Assembly elections are conducted with women's reservation in place," the Prime Minister said in his letter dated April 11.
The Budget Session of Parliament has been extended, and a special three-day sitting of the House has been convened on April 16 to 18.
The Women's Reservation Act will ensure an increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816, of which 273 will be reserved for women.
The provision to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies was brought by amending the Constitution in 2023.
However, the women's quota would have come into effect only after the completion of the delimitation exercise on the basis of the 2027 Census. This meant the reservation would not have become enforceable before 2034 if the present law remains as is.
To implement it from the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, changes were needed in the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam; hence, the government is holding a special session to pass the amendments to the law.
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