Three years into making of a New & Strong India
India is rewriting its growth story in the global geopolitical economic landscape, charting new courses in its governance paradigm and striving to demolish the old images and impressions as viewed through coloured lenses in the comity of nations to evolve into a New India. The world must indeed know that today, outside of America and China, India is the third-largest economy with a robust, fastgrowing market for goods and services. The changing face of India, constantly challenging the status quo is brimming with examples of its leadership leading from the front across a spectrum of sectors in the last three years. Initiatives spearheaded by the government have deeply altered the mindset and behaviours of people. The time has arrived when the stereotypical representations of India have to be discarded and the story of this New India that is resurgent, resilient and resplendent needs to be captured in the face of crises and global threats. Let us start with the most recent announcement of demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, one of the most impactful steps taken to curb the threepronged menace of black money, counterfeit currency and corruption. It provided a logical climax to the series of initiatives taken towards this cause of the government which include closely collaboration with the Swiss bank officials, setting up of an SIT to deal with investigations on individual cases of tax evasion and Income Declaration Scheme, which mobilised tax revenue of nearly Rs 65,000 crore. A move to purge the economy of the toxic black cash not only induces more efficiency and reduces corruption, but also gives room for the government and the central bank to cut tax rates and interest rates respectively, spurring up investments while being on track to attain the fiscal deficit and growth targets. This is the story of a Resurgent India.
India’s digital leadership was clearly visible post demonetisation when the effort to boost the Digital Payments ecosystem received a much needed fillip. The aim was to inculcate a behaviour change in promoting cashless transactions and converting India into a less-cash society, thereby seeking to increase transparency and accountability. It is heartening to note that about 1.5 crore people have adopted the BHIM app so far in just over 2 months’ time of its launch.
To facilitate digital transactions, over 30 crore Rupay debit cards had been issued by the government including those issued to Jan Dhan account-holders. Around 12.5 lakh people have won under the Lucky Grahak Yojana and 70,000 traders bagged prizes under the Digidhan Vyapar Yojana.
Demonetisation and other decisions taken in the economic sphere have gone hand in hand with the aggressive drive towards achieving universal financial inclusion and bringing every citizen into the formal banking net.
Nearly 28.13 crore accounts have been opened so far under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) which gives a much needed fillip to move towards a cashless economy and realise the dream of ‘financial untouchability’. The scheme has managed to open more bank accounts in the last two years than in the all the years since India’s independence to August 2014 combined. This is the story of an Inclusive India.
The passage of the historic GST legislation is set to simplify the tax regime, create a nation-wide market for goods and services and broaden the tax base giving a fillip to economic growth. Government revenues are set to rise. Logistics, inventory costs, tax evasion will fall and manufactured goods would be cheaper. The dream of One Nation, One Tax is now a reality. This proves beyond doubt the decisiveness of the government. Manufacturing will get more competitive as GST addresses cascading of tax, inter-state tax, high logistics costs and fragmented market.
There will be increased protection from imports as GST provides for appropriate countervailing duty. This is the story of a Transformational India.