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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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
