Terming Goods and Services Tax (GST) as a ‘monumental reform’, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said that the new tax reform had only a transient impact on growth and that too for two quarters. Besides, he pointed towards the fast economic recovery from the limited disruptionist impact of the tax reform.
The Finance Minister further highlighted that GST had a smooth implementation and had impacted growth for just two quarters, as GDP numbers since then climbed up to 7, 7.7 and 8.2 percent in the subsequent quarters. He made a comparison of these growth numbers with 2012-2014 numbers. He also said that the country has been able to retain its position as the fastest growing major economy, with the current government.
Besides, the minister noted that the economy became more formalized, on the back of the government’s various reform measures including GST, demonetisation and the much-contested Aadhaar. These initiatives also made available extra resources which are now being utilised for building infrastructure, rural roads and also for paying for various social sector schemes aimed at uplifting the masses.