Share

Indian government sets out reform agenda

New Delhi - India's new government will pursue a broad economic reform agenda focused on job creation through public and private investment that also makes containing inflation its top priority, President Pranab Mukherjee told parliament on Monday.

The president told lawmakers elected in Modi's landslide victory last month that the government would introduce a general sales tax, encourage foreign investment and speed up approvals for major business projects while tackling bottlenecks that make India's food inflation the highest among major economies.

The anti-inflationary message will be welcomed by central bank governor Raghuram Rajan who has made India's growth-stifling high interest rates contingent on containing consumer prices.

Mukherjee said returning to a path of high economic growth after several volatile years was paramount.

Asia's third-largest economy grew by 4.7% in 2013 to 2014, marking the second straight year of sub-5% growth and the longest such slowdown in more than a quarter of a century.

The government will "urgently pursue" reforms to the state-run coal sector and to the defence industry to attract private investment, the president said, while speeding up project clearances to promote labour intensive manufacturing industries.

Some 10 million people enter the country's workforce every year as the largest youth bulge the world has ever seen reaches working age. The demographic shift may help propel India into the league of developed nations but could lead to economic and social disaster if it is not harnessed effectively.

Modi's government also promised to ensure that every Indian family has a good home with uninterrupted supplies of power by 2022. It will urgently seek to revamp India's creaking railway system, with a focus on high speed trains, as well as road and airport building.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
19.05
-0.7%
Rand - Pound
23.98
-0.3%
Rand - Euro
20.55
-0.4%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.36
-0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.7%
Platinum
894.10
-0.3%
Palladium
996.00
-0.6%
Gold
2,193.32
-0.1%
Silver
24.41
-1.0%
Brent Crude
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
67,889
+0.3%
All Share
74,074
+0.2%
Resource 10
56,132
+0.9%
Industrial 25
103,554
+0.3%
Financial 15
16,492
-0.2%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders