Arun Jaitley says printing new notes will take time

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Friday said that secure printing of the new currency notes is a time-consuming exercise.

“If you need to replace 86 percent of a country’s cash currency, you have to have a substantial part ready”, he said while addressing the inaugural session of HT Leadership Summit 2016.

“Black money has been a norm in India for seven decades, we want to confront it and create a new normal," he added.

Volume of trade, business will grow but size of paper currency will shrink, he claimed. He also stressed that India will continue to be fastest growing major economy in world like last year. He added that Rabi sowing is higher than last year; mixed trend in auto sales.

Related stories

Arun Jaitley

Finance Minister|GoI

• 
  The Budget discussion: FM defends Budget math
• 
  Opposition boycotts Rajya Sabha; FM speaks from parliament
• 
  If there is one group of people I feel strongly for, it is middle class: FM

Jaitley said some disruption is bound to be created due to switchover but long term advantages are huge and the country has welcomed demonetisation. He said the demonetisation move would ensure that political funding become "transparent".

 

 

"We are at the cusp of change and the battle between the taxman and the people who try to beat the system will continue," he added.

Jaitley said demonetisation was one of many steps that government was planning to take to transform the economy while pitching the case for GST.

“GST is now a constitutional compulsion before the 16th Sept 2017. The Intention was to implement it from 1st of April 2017. Once the remonetisation is completed, it will impact the business and will be a new way of life,” he said.

GST and demonetisation together will be a game changer, he added.

However, he also issued a warning to the states that were opposed to economic reforms. “Investors will be wary of some states seen on wrong side of reforms,” he said.