FM interview: Growth robust; reforms yielding results, inflation manageable; open for SBI, ONGC disinvestment

In an exclusive interview with Network18 Editor-in-chief Rahul Joshi, Sitharaman said the robustness of the economy has not gone down and called the interim budget “secularism in action”

The Indian economy will maintain steady growth over the medium term, aided by continued structural reforms, with the government confident of containing inflation within manageable limits.

In an exclusive interview with Network18 Editor-in-chief Rahul Joshi, Sitharaman said the robustness of the economy has not gone down and called the interim budget “secularism in action.”

“The chief economic adviser has also commented in his preface and has elaborated how 7% is not difficult to achieve. Globally also various organisations that look at the economies of all countries, like the IMF, have enhanced their assessments. So upgrading our growth estimates is not just singularly our business,” the finance minister said as she elaborated on the broad philosophy of the Vote on Account or the Interim Budget that she presented on February 1.

Capex target will be met

The government will continue to do the heavy lifting on investment. Sitharaman pencilled in a capital expenditure of Rs 11.1 lakh crore, a growth of 11.1 per cent over 2023-24.

This is on the back of a 33 per cent — from Rs 7.5 lakh crore in 2022-23 to Rs 10 lakh crore in 2023-24.

On February 2, a day after the Budget’s presentation, she defended the capital expenditure allocation, acknowledging the challenges faced in achieving the previous year's target.

“So, sometimes reaching the target, however ambitious it is, is difficult to the last mile within 12 months. Had we given them a few more months, they would probably even complete that,” she said. "I am very hopeful, it will definitely get used”.

Confident of Managing Inflation

The finance minister exuded confidence that the government will be able to contain inflation within manageable limits.

"We are confident that we'll be able to manage inflation," Sitharaman said.

“We are confident that on the one hand, we will be able to manage inflation and on the other hand, will keep the robustness in growth so that it is sustained growth. We have made every effort to look at both growth driving elements and the inclusivity driving elements so that nobody is left out from this growth process – both to contribute and to gain from," the Finance Minister said.

"Food inflation cannot be spoken as one basket or one item," pointing out the varied components, including import dependence and external supply determinants.

Govt Enthusiastic About Fintech

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government continues to be enthusiastic about fintech and would like to engage with more stakeholders in the space, but refrained from commenting on the ongoing issue involving PayTM. “I wouldn’t want to comment on a particular company. But fintech is an area in which all of us are very enthusiastic. India has contributed a lot to this sector,” the finance minister said.

Govt open to SBI, ONGC disinvestments

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 2 said the government is open to the idea of disinvestment of equity stake in blue-chip PSUs including State Bank of India (SBI) and Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC). The government is not against the idea of holding a minority stake (less than 50 percent) in key strategic public sector companies, she said in an exclusive interview with Network18.

“Absolutely,” Sitharaman told Network18 Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi, when asked if she was okay with holding 49 percent or less in PSUs including SBI and ONGC.

White paper on UPA’s economic mismanagement

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in an exclusive interview with Editor-in-chief, Network18, Rahul Joshi, said the Centre plans to table white paper in Parliament soon.

"White paper to focus on the impact of the mismanagement of the economy during the previous regime. The white paper will talk about all the steps that were immoral and what kind of positive impact the right steps could have had on the economy then," she said. "We lost 10 glorious years... Every area of the economy was ridden by problems from banks to minerals."

She said the government did not put out the white paper earlier as it did not want people to lose faith in it and institutions. "So, the PM first restored the economy, which is why a white paper was not put out earlier. The PM is never in favour of quick twists and turns," she said.

Sitharaman said the era is changing. "People don’t like corrupt leaders," said the Finance Minister.

AI Now Big Factor in Job Market: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said work requirements are changing due to the introduction of artificial intelligence, which is now a big factor in the job market. She said the global slowdown has impacted employment in the country, but there is job creation in the middle and lower orders. In an exclusive interview with Network18 Group editor-in-chief Rahul Joshi, Sitharaman said the global slowdown along with the introduction of AI has impacted jobs.