Namaskar,
The government is preparing a strong path of collective ownership and equal partnership in the implementation of the budget through the Post-Budget Webinars. Your views and suggestions are of great importance in this webinar. I extend a very warm welcome to all of you in this webinar.
Friends,
Today the whole world is witnessing the impact of India's fiscal and monetary policy during the Corona pandemic. This is the result of the government's efforts to strengthen the fundamentals of India's economy in the last 9 years. There was a time when the credence of India used to be questioned a hundred times. Be it our economy, our budget, our goals, whenever it was discussed, it used to start with a question mark and end with a question mark only. Now that India is moving towards Financial Discipline, Transparency and Inclusive approach, we are also seeing a huge change. Now, at the beginning of the discussion, trust has replaced the question mark and at the end of the discussion also the question mark has been replaced with expectation. Today India is being called the bright spot of the global economy. Today, India is also taking up the responsibility of the Presidency of the G-20. The country has received the highest ever FDI in 2021-22. A major part of this investment has taken place in the manufacturing sector. Applications are continuously pouring in to avail the benefits of PLI scheme. We are also becoming an important part of the global supply chain. Definitely, this period has brought a huge opportunity for India and we should not let this opportunity go, we should take full advantage of it and do it together.
Friends,
Today's new India is now moving forward with new potential. In such a situation, the responsibility of all of you, the people of the Financial World of India has also increased. Today you have one of the strongest financial systems in the world. The banking system which was on the verge of collapse 8-10 years back has now become profitable. Today you have such a government which is constantly taking bold decisions; there is a lot of clarity, conviction and confidence in the policy decisions. That's why now you too must go ahead and work, work fast.
Friends,
Today, it is the need of the hour that the benefits of the strength in India's banking system should reach the last mile. Just like we supported MSME's, similarly India's banking system will have to do Hand Holding of a maximum number of sectors. 1 crore 20 lakh MSME's have got huge help from the government during the pandemic. In this year's budget, the MSME sector has also got an additional collateral free guaranteed credit of 2 lakh crores. It is now imperative that our banks reach out to them and provide them with adequate finance.
Friends,
Government's policies related to Financial Inclusion have made crores of people a part of the formal financial system. The government has done an excellent job in fulfilling the dreams of the youth by providing Mudra loan of more than 20 lakh crore rupees without bank guarantee. Through the PM Swanidhi scheme, it has become possible for more than 40 lakh street vendors and small shopkeepers to get help from banks for the first time. It is very important for all stakeholders to reduce the cost of credit, increase the speed of credit and to re-engineer the processes to reach out to small entrepreneurs faster. And technology can help a lot in that. Only then will the maximum benefit of India's growing banking power benefit the poor of India and those who are making efforts to remove their poverty by becoming self-employed.
Friends,
There is also a topic of vocal for local and self-reliance. This is not an issue of choice for us. We have seen during the pandemic, this is an issue that influences the future. ‘Vocal for Local’ and the vision of self-reliance is a national responsibility. We are witnessing an unprecedented enthusiasm in the country for the Vocal for Local and self-reliance Mission. Because of this domestic production has not only increased, there has also been a record increase in exports. Be it goods or services, our exports have been at an all-time high in 2021-22. Exports are increasing, which means more and more opportunities are being created abroad for India. In such a situation, everyone can take this responsibility that he will promote local artisans, he will encourage entrepreneurs. Different groups, organizations, chambers of commerce, industrial associations, all the trade and industry organizations can take many initiatives and steps together. I am sure that even at the district level you have a network, you have teams. These people can identify the products of the district which can be exported on a large scale.
and friends,
Talking about Vocal for Local, we have to keep one more thing in mind. It is beyond just buying things from Indian cottage industries; otherwise we would have been stuck with Diwali diyas. We have to see which are the areas where we can save the country's money by building capacity in India itself. Now see every year thousands of crores of rupees go out of the country in the name of higher education. Can it not be reduced by investing in the education sector in India itself? We also send thousands of crores of rupees abroad to buy edible oil. Can't we become self-reliant in this field? Experienced people of the financial world like you can give the exact answers to all such questions and suggest the way. I hope you will definitely discuss these topics seriously in this webinar.
Friends,
All of you experts know that there has been a huge increase in capital expenditure in this year's budget. A provision of 10 lakh crore has been made for this. Due to PM Gati Shakti, there has been an unprecedented speed in the planning and implementation of the project. We also have to give maximum support to the private sector working for the progress of different geographical areas and economic sectors. Today, I would also call upon the private sector of the country to increase their investment just like the government so that the country gets maximum benefit from it.
Friends,
After the budget, there has been a lot of discussions regarding tax. Earlier this used to be discussed everywhere. I am talking about the past when the tax rates were very high in India. Today the situation in India is completely different. Due to GST, due to reduction in income tax, due to reduction in corporate tax, the tax in India has reduced a lot. And the burden on the citizens is reducing a lot. But there is another aspect to it as well. Our gross tax revenue during 2013-14 was about 11 lakh crore. According to the estimates in the budget of 2023-24, the gross tax revenue can now be more than 33 lakh crores. This increase is 200 percent. That is, India is reducing the tax rate, but despite this the tax collection is continuously increasing. We have done a lot in the direction of increasing our tax base as well. In 2013-14, about 3.5 crore individual tax returns were filed. In 2020-21, it was increased to 6.5 crore.
Friends,
Paying tax is such a duty, which is directly related to nation building. The increase in the tax base is proof that people have faith in the government, and they believe that the tax they are paying is being spent for public good only. Being associated with the industry and as the biggest generator of economic output, it is our responsibility to encourage the growth of the tax base. All your organizations and all your members should keep urging in this regard.
Friends,
India has the talent, infrastructure and innovators to take our financial system to the top. In this era of 'Industry 4.0', the kind of platforms India is developing today is becoming a model for the whole world. GeM i.e. Government E-Market Place has given even the smallest shopkeepers living in far-flung areas of India the ability to sell their goods directly to the government. The way India is moving forward in digital currency is also unprecedented. In the 75th year of independence, 75 thousand crore transactions were done digitally; this shows how wide the expansion of UPI has become. RuPay and UPI is not just a low cost and highly secure technology, it is our identity in the world. There is immense potential for innovation in this. We have to work together for UPI to become a means of financial inclusion and empowerment for the whole world. I suggest that our financial institutions should also have maximum partnership with FinTechs to increase their reach.
Friends,
To boost the economy, sometimes small steps can make a phenomenal difference. For example, there is a topic, the habit of buying goods without taking the bill. People feel that they are not being harmed by this, so they often do not even push for the bill. When more and more people will come to know that the country is benefited by taking the bill and this huge system will develop for the country to move on the path of progress, then you will see, people will definitely go ahead and demand the bill. We just need to make people more and more aware.
Friends,
All of you should work with the thought that the benefits of India's economic development should reach every class and every person. For this, we also have to create a large pool of well-trained professionals. I want all of you to consider and discuss in detail every such futuristic idea. I am sure that you, the people from the financial world, have created a positive atmosphere around the budget by your observations and your praise. Now it is the responsibility of all of us to see how the country can reap the maximum benefit of this budget and within the stipulated time and how we can move forward on a certain roadmap. Through your brainstorming, solutions, new innovative & out of the box ideas will definitely emerge which will be very useful for implementation and achieving desired results. My best wishes to all of you!
Thank you.
