“We are witnessing a V-shaped recovery after the pandemic. Our focus on infrastructure and logistics has started to remove bottlenecks on the supply side. Contact-based services are also gaining momentum due to the success of our COVID-19 vaccination drive. This is a good sign for our economy to come back on track,” said Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh. He was addressing a workshop on the financial market organised by the Lucknow branch of Central India Regional Council (CIRC) of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh on May 14, 2022.
In his address, Rajnath Singh commended the contribution of Chartered Accountants (CAs) in steering the commercial ecosystem of the country in the right direction, describing them as the backbone of financial management and auditing of the economy. “CAs are the conscience keepers of the financial system. The CAs must ensure honesty while imparting their duties as they are the keepers of the people’s trust in financial institutions,” he said.
The Minister said that the world economy is going through a very difficult phase due to the supply chain disruptions and logistical bottlenecks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and now the Russia-Ukraine conflict. However he said that noting that the disturbances and uncertainties caused due to COVID-19 reduced private consumption expenditures, He asserted that the Government has initiated a number of steps to deal with these challenges and the results are visible. Referring to recent surveys and reports, he said that India continues to grow as one of the fastest-growing major economies in the world. “Our exports continue to set new records and are likely to increase further. A major free trade agreement has been signed with Australia and similar agreements with other partner countries as well.”
The Raksha Mantri also spoke of the gross GST revenue collection which was the highest ever at Rs 1.68 lakh crore for April 2022. He added that new investments are being made at the global and domestic levels which are expected to ease the pressure on the supply chain.
The Raksha Mantri shared insights on the key aspects required for the growth of the economy, namely skilled human resources; capital; technology; markets and institutions such as the Rule of Law, independent courts, free press and regulatory system. He said, to strengthen human resources, the Government launched National Education Policy 2020 and set up new IITs, IIMs, polytechnic colleges, and medical colleges and increased the number of medical seats.
