With an aim to revive India’s GDP growth that has decelerated to the slowest pace in three years, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has hinted a package of measures, while nearly ruling out any cut in duties on petroleum products to check the spike in fuel prices. However, he refused to reveal details and said that the measures would be announced soon, after consulting Prime Minister.
The finance minister has stated that in the last few days, they have held a series of meetings with some of his ministerial colleagues and senior government officials to take stock of the situation and firm up steps to push up growth. He also said that they have taken note of all the economic indicators which are available and this has been a pro-active government on the reforms agenda. Further, he highlighted that they have been taking appropriate actions and consistently moving on the reform agenda.
On the current high transport fuel prices, Jaitley said that it was a temporary spike in global prices caused by the supply-demand mismatch due to hurricanes that hit the US coast. Asked about the possibility of a cut in excise duties on petroleum products, he said that government needed money for public spending to push growth and for social sector schemes. He said “States are taking so much tax... states under the Left and Congress should take steps to lower cesses.”
Meanwhile, the country’s economic growth unexpectedly slowed to 5.7% in the June quarter, the slowest pace in three years, underlining the disruption caused by the uncertainty related to the rollout of the goods and services tax (GST) even as the Indian economy is struggling to recover from a shock demonetisation.
Start Research-backed Investing ...Now. Subscribe to Sapphire
MoneyWorks4Me is a SEBI-registered Investment Adviser (IA) dedicated to helping investors build long-term wealth through transparent, research-driven, conflict-free guidance. Founded in 2008, we started our journey as a Research Analyst (RA), providing deep fundamental analysis, intrinsic value insights, and long-term investing frameworks for Indian equities. In 2017, we transitioned to a full-fledged SEBI-registered Investment Adviser, strengthening our commitment to acting as a fiduciary—always putting the investor’s interest first.
To become India’s most trusted, research-powered fiduciary advisory platform—where every investor, regardless of experience, can make calm, confident, and well-reasoned investment decisions.
MoneyWorks4Me ensures this through: