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Economy picking up pace, undid a retro tax mistake: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that India’s economy is picking up pace once again and the Centre’s decision to away with retrospective taxation will strengthen the trust between the government and the industry. Addressing the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Annual Meeting 2021, the Prime Minister urged the industry to take full advantage […]

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that India’s economy is picking up pace once again and the Centre’s decision to away with retrospective taxation will strengthen the trust between the government and the industry.

Addressing the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Annual Meeting 2021, the Prime Minister urged the industry to take full advantage of the atmosphere of trust for India’s development and capabilities. “Reforms are not compulsion, reforms are conviction for us. We have passed such bills in this session of parliament which will speed up the pace of growth of the country. Our economy is recovering. The industry is a major part of India’s growth story. With efforts of all of you, India’s economy is picking up pace once again. There is rarely a day when a CEO doesn’t issue a statement or there’s not a report on new opportunities,” he said.

Pm Modi referred to the Parliament passing the bill to nullify retrospective taxation on 9 August during the monsoon session of Parliament. “We have rectified the mistake done in past and decided to do away with the retrospective taxation. The industry is praising this decision of the government and I believe that this will strengthen the trust between the government and Industry. Today there is a government in the country which is ready to take risks for the benefit of the country.”

In 2012, the Congress-led UPA government changed tax laws retrospectively. International companies which had acquired assets of Indian companies before then were told they had to pay huge amounts. This led to a fierce legal fight between the government and the companies. The cases were met with a huge outcry among foreign investors and also dealt a blow to the government of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who lost power in a 2014 election to PM Modi.

Stating that the Industry is a major part of India’s growth story, the Prime Minister mentioned that due to its efforts the economy is recovering and is picking up pace again. He said India is receiving record FDI and FPI investment is also making new records due to the efforts of the government. “The country’s forex reserve is at an all-time high,” he added.

The Prime Minister said that ‘New India’ is ready and committed to growing with the new world. India, which was once apprehensive of foreign investment, is today welcoming all types of investments and is taking major leaps in ease of doing business ranking today, he noted.

Pointing out that there was a time when the foreign-made product was seen to be better suited and Indian brands took years to get established, he said things are changing very fast now. “The Industry has to make its policies and strategies in accordance with this, going ahead in the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan,” he said.

He said trust of the countrymen is with the products made in India and every Indian wants to adopt such products though the company making those products might not necessarily be Indian.

During the meeting, the industry leaders appreciated the Prime Minister’s commitment towards reforms in various sectors, in order to achieve the goal of a $5 trillion economy.

The Prime Minister, who addressed the gathering through video conference, said that this CII meeting is taking place on the eve of the 75th Independence Day, in the midst of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. He said this is a huge opportunity for new resolutions and for new goals of the Indian industry.

PM Modi said the major responsibility for the success of the self-reliant India campaign lies on Indian industries and he lauded the industry for their resilience during the pandemic. The Prime Minister said that red-tapism of the past has been replaced by a significant rise in the ease of doing business index.

He referred to rationalising of labour laws into four labour codes and said agriculture, which was treated as a mere means of livelihood, is being connected with the markets through reforms. The Prime Minister said when the Indian youth enter a field today, they do not have that hesitation. “They want to work hard, take risks and bring results. Similar confidence is in India’s startups today,” he said.

Noting that India today has 60 unicorns compared to possibly 3-4 unicorns 6-7 years ago, he said 21 of these unicorns have emerged during the last few months. “The unicorns, with their diversity of sectors, indicate changes in India at every level,” he said, adding that investor response has been tremendous for the startups and this signals that India has extraordinary opportunities for growth.

Referring to the initiatives taken during the Parliament session, he said the Factoring Regulation amendment Bill will help small businessmen to get credit and Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation Amendment Bill will protect the interests of small depositors. Noting that GST was stuck for so many years because the previous governments could not muster up the courage to take political risks, he said not only has GST been implemented but the country was seeing record GST collection.

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