Resilient economy reflected country’s economic management: Mukherjee

KOLKATA - Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said the resilience shown by the Indian economy during the global crisis reflects a maturing of the economic management of the country and the growing competitiveness of enterprise.

Addressing at the inaugural session of Second International Finance Conference, here, Mukherjee said: “This resilience has happened even as the economy has become more integrated with global markets. It shows that globalization and economic resilience can go hand in hand.”

Mentioning that India’s growth momentum, to some extent, has been affected by developments in the Western World, he said that a faster recovery in the West would benefit all.

“We have been more fortunate in surviving the crisis without major disruptions and have recovered our growth momentum much faster than most others. In the first half of 2010-11 the Indian economy recorded an overall GDP growth of 8.9 per cent which takes us back on the high growth path that the economy was traversing on in the years prior to the crisis. The concern on inflation remains. India’s growth momentum, to some extent, is affected by developments in the western world,” he added.

Referring to Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC), set up by the Government to strengthen and institutionalize the mechanism for maintaining financial stability, Mukherjee said the government will also set up a Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) to rewrite and clean up the financial sector laws and bring them in line with the requirements of the sector.

He said government has accorded high importance to financial inclusion as it is a key determinant of sustainable and inclusive growth.

“The government is committed to provide access to affordable financial services, especially credit and insurance to empower the poor and to enable the unbanked to become vibrant and productive participants in the process of economic growth, he added.

Highlighting India’s compliance with most of the internationally accepted standards in banking, securities markets and insurance sector, Mukherjee said that we have voluntarily sought a full-fledged financial sector assessment programme (FSAP), an international evaluation exercise conducted by the IMF and the World Bank.

“The country, today, is in a position to sustain high economic growth in the coming decades and create a more inclusive outcome for the society and emphasized government’s commitment to take the reform process forward,” he added. (ANI)