Sitharaman: Reduction of GST rates, 70,000 cr boost for state-run banks

Government to release additional Rs 70,000 crore into public sector banks, withdrawal of surcharge on capital gains on FPIs and other measures announced by FM Nirmala Sitharaman to revive the economy

New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said India's GDP continues to grow at a faster pace than the global economy and any other major economy. Addressing a press conference on the state of the economy, she said reform is a continuous process for her government and it tops the agenda

Nirmala Sitharaman said that the global GDP growth may be revised downwards from the current estimate of 3.2 per cent, adding that globally the demand was going to be weak. But the Indian economy was growing faster than the global average and all other major economies, she added while announcing a stimulus package to boost the economy of the country.

Also read: Corporate tax to be gradually cut to 25 percent, says Nirmala Sitharaman

Key points of what the finance minister said in her press conference.

• Rate cuts introduced by RBI to be passed to borrowers by banks; Government launched repo rate or external benchmark-linked loan products
• Govt to infuse upfront Rs 70,000 crore into public sector banks to enable the release of Rs 5 lakh cr liquidity in the market
• Banks to make home, auto loans cheaper
• To ease building auto inventories, the govt will allow an additional 15% depreciation on vehicles acquired from now till March 2020
• Withdrawal of enhanced surcharge levied on FPIs to encourage investment.
• Surcharge on domestic investors in equity goes
• Withdrawal of angel tax provisions for startups
• GST regime to be simplified further
• All old tax notices will be decided by Oct 1 or will be uploaded again through the centralised system
• All tax notices to be issued from the centralised system
• All pending Goods and Services refunds due to small, micro and medium enterprises will be paid within a period of 30 days
• BS-IV vehicles purchased up to Mar 2020 will remain operational for the entire period of registration
• Both EVs and liquid fuel-driven vehicles will continue to be registered
• Violations of CSR norms under the companies law will be treated only as civil liability and not as a criminal offence
• India's GDP continues to grow at a faster pace than the global economy and any other major economy

Echoing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Independence Day speech talking of respect for wealth creators, the finance minister said this was the spirt of her budget for FY20. Sitharaman said she held consultations with different sectors to understand their needs thereafter.
"We haven't lost reforms momentum," she said.

#Watch: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addresses media in Delhi https://t.co/LDgMETRQdB

— ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2019

Moody's Investors Service on Friday revised downwards India's GDP growth forecast for the current year to 6.2 per cent, saying the economy remains sluggish due to a combination of factors such as weak hiring, distress among rural households and tighter financial conditions.

(with inputs from ANI and PTI)

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Edited by mid-day online desk with inputs from Agencies

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