Describing Goods and Services Tax (GST) as a ‘tectonic shift’, World Bank India chief Junaid Ahmad has said that India’s this bold step of integrating internally its nation into one market, has potential to boost the growth rate of the country if it is implemented efficiently and may take the county closer towards 8 per cent plus growth rate.
Junaid Ahmad, further highlighting the positive impact of GST, said that the economic corridors of India will change on the back of the new tax regime, though he expressed need transportation system, particular multi- modal, in order to respond what GST is offering as one market.
World Bank India chief also pointed that apart from reforms like GST, the country’s growth also depends on investment in the logistics, adding that if integration of India’s local markets are done correctly, the gains in next 5-8 years from the internal integration will outweigh those from global integration.
Besides, he said that the internal integration linked to the country’s port system can change the nature of growth of India. However, he raised his concern about India’s professional service delivery mechanism in the fields like water system, electricity, railway or solid waste management system, saying that the country is in high need of it and flagged optimal service delivery mechanism of basic infrastructure as one of the biggest challenges of the country now.