Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to meet CMs, state FMs on November 15

The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will meet the Chief Ministers and the Finance Ministers of States on November 15, 2021. The meeting will be held to discuss the measures to attract private investments to help boost the country’s economy.

Finance Secretary T V Somanathan said that the meeting comes in the backdrop of the strong economic recovery after the two COVID-19 waves in the country and that the Central Government has made a big push in Capex.

The meeting with the Finance Minister will also be attended by the secretaries of the Government of India, Chief Secretaries, and Financial Secretaries of the state.

Finance Minister to meet CMs, state FMs on November 15: What can be expected?

• The Finance Minister will direct the states to take reform measures to take the advantage of the positive sentiment of investors towards India as they plan on diversifying their business away from China.

• During the meeting, the states may also share their ideas for enhancing the investment climate, leading to a broad consensus regarding the trajectory to be undertaken for India to become the fastest-growing economy.

• The discussion during the meeting will also focus on easing the norms on land and water use for attracting private investments. The purpose of the meeting will be to use this juncture not only to push growth from the Centre but also at the state level.

Collaborative growth vision for Indian economy

The Finance Minister of India seeks to embark on a collaborative growth vision for the nation and encourages an open exchange of ideas that are centered on enhancing private investment in the country.

The interaction between Center and State will attempt to create a policy discourse and facilitative environment for the inward investment-led growth.

It will be done by a pro-active approach to investment promotion, efficiencies brought about by Ease of Doing Business, and clearances up to Urban Local Bodies (ULB) levels.

India, post-COVID, one of the fastest-growing economies

As per the Finance Ministry, while the growth had slowed down in the Coronavirus pandemic, after the first quarter of the current fiscal, the Indian economy has picked up again with green shoots of recovery clearly visible.

It added that the projections of the World Bank and IMF have projected India’s GDP growth to about 9.5% and 8.3% respectively, as one of the fastest-growing economies.