Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey has revealed the Narendra Modi government is holding discussions with various stakeholders for a new set of "stimulus announcements" as it attempts to boost the economy.
Pandey talked about plans for stimulus measures in interviews with various outlets that were published on Monday.
Pandey explained to Money Control, "Our approach, right from the onset of the pandemic, has been to study the situation, determine the need of the hour, gauge who needs assistance or stimulus or intervention, what is needed, which section of the industry, which section of the population and then come out with that response."
"We continue to receive suggestions, because there are still certain sectors, which may require interventions. We are having discussions with the stakeholders concerned—industry bodies, the ministries, small and medium enterprises and various other sectors. The finance minister has already said that we will not [be] left wanting if certain interventions are needed. We have to identify the sectors which need interventions," he told Money Control.
However, Pandey told The Indian Express the government was not keen on tinkering with the tax structure.
“The tinkering of the taxation structure is something which we need to be very very careful about, because we took a very bold step and reduced the corporate tax rate and we are among the lowest taxed countries in the world. If any tax exemptions have to be given, how will the government give it? It will again lead to distortions in the tax structure. Now that we have come down to a reasonable level of taxation, what it then requires is that we should continue with that and should not go on tinkering with that,” Pandey told The Indian Express.
Pandey noted tax revenue collection has improved in October. "We can get a sense of what has happened in October if we see the e-way bills figures. In October, it is 21 percent higher YoY. For September, this figure was 10 percent. When we analyse all these figures, we'll see that collection is recovering, and in certain areas, it is also going into the positive zone. We have to watch for the next few months and then we will have a good idea of recovery and growth trajectory," he told Money Control.
Pandey reiterated that the government wanted states that had not agreed to the GST compensation borrowing options to join it.
Pandey told Money Control, "we will continue to try and convince them [states] so that they can avail the loans as soon as possible."
