Dr. Rakesh Mohan over his long and illustrious career has been the Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI); Executive Director at International Monetary Fund; Chief Economic Advisor to the Ministry of Finance, GoI and more. In an exclusive interaction with The Dollar Business, on the eve of the launch of his new book, he held forth on a wide-range of topics including fiscal responsibility, GST, the role of RBI and more.
TDB: Congratulations on your latest book – India Transformed: 25 Years of Economic Reforms. What is the theme?
Dr. Rakesh Mohan (RM): The book is a documentation of India’s transformation, over the last 25 years. It begins from the time India embraced the liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation (LPG) model, and how the country’s image changed from a poverty-ridden, slow growing, closed economy to that of a fast growing, open and dynamic one.
The accomplishments that we see today weren’t achieved overnight and it is still a work in progress. One of the points I have emphasised in the book is the level of consistency that all the governments have shown in their approaches while reforming the country. For instance, Goods and Services Tax (GST), as a concept, originated 30 years ago. I believe, it was in the year 1986 when the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Finance Minister V. P. Singh brought forth the idea of Modified Value Added Tax (MODVAT), which finally became input tax credit (ITC). And there are many such stories and examples which ‘India Transformed’ talks about.
TDB: Do you think governments have been doing their best for fiscal reforms?
RM: Each government has contributed to the idea of fiscal reforms and the process continues. I believe that fiscal responsibility in the Budget was given serious thought first in 2003, when the Parliament enacted the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act (FRBMA). The law was aimed at institutionalizing financial discipline, reducing fiscal deficit and strengthening fiscal prudence. I think the agenda initiated by the then Vajpayee-led government has been followed by other governments too. As a result, when PM Manmohan Singh was at the helm, we almost achieved the fiscal objective of 3% deficit in 2007-08.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 2017 من The Dollar Business.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 2017 من The Dollar Business.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
'We Are One Of India's Biggest Trade Partners'
References of a strong trade alliance between India and Netherlands can be traced back to the 17th century. Even today, the two nations boast of a robust relationship. In an interaction with The Dollar Business, H.E. Alphonsus Stoelinga, Ambassador of Netherlands to India, talks about the ways to further consolidate the strong bilateral relations and maximise opportunities for investors from both countries.
'India Is A Priority Market For Amul'
When one talks about dairy products in India, the first name that perhaps comes to mind is Amul. R. S. Sodhi, Managing Director of Gujarat Co-Operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF which owns the brand) Ltd., spoke with The Dollar Business about the USP of the cooperative, the continued relevance of its business model and Amul’s expansion across overseas markets.
New-gen Newsmakers
The Dollar Business Celebrates the Success of Rising Stars of Indian Foreign Trade for Them the Sky Is No Limit, It’s Just a Direction!
We Will Be Exporting to 30 Markets From India by End of 2016
Daimler AG has been active in the commercial vehicle business in India since the 1950s. However, it only started manufacturing in the country in 2012 through its subsidiary Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV). And since then there has been no looking back. The Dollar Business caught up with Erich Nesselhauf, MD & CEO, DICV, to know the secret to DICV's success.
Rcep Can Boost Business Across a Large Region
New Zealand and India have a lot in common – from their love for cricket to their Commonwealth heritage and much more. Despite this the bilateral trade between the two countries is yet to live up to its potential. In an exclusive interaction with The Dollar Business, Grahame Morton, High Commissioner of New Zealand to India, talks about various ways to improve social, political and trade ties between the two nations.
MEIS: When Change Is the Only Constant
The Merchandise Export from India Scheme (MEIS), which was introduced in FTP 2015-2020, has undergone several changes. Recently again, while 2,901 tarifflines were added to the MEIS schedule, reward rates across 575 tarifflines were altered. While just the word ‘added’ may sound good to some exporters, for the most, frequent changes and ambiguities in notifications are confusing many.
FTP Mid - Term Review : Will Exporters Woes Continue?
India's exporters got little from this year's Union Budget. The recently implemented Goods and Services Tax (GST) further left them confused. They now can't wait to learn what 'happy surprises' the mid-term review of the Foreign Trade Policy has in store for them. And not to say, their expectations from the mid-term review have changed in the past weeks. [It's just getting bigger!] The Dollar Business reaches out to India's EXIM community to learn what it desires from the FTP revision and how GST has impacted its wishlist.
Exporters Find It Tough To Honour High Volume Commitments
Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), established in 1985, has been instrumental in identifying new markets and providing better support systems to exporters of agricultural and processed food products. In a tête-à-tête with The Dollar Business, Devendra Kumar Singh, Chairman of APEDA, throws light on the various initiatives that APEDA is taking up to give exports a boost.
Can India's Outsourcing Industry Survive The Trump Attack?
Uncertainty has descended upon the $150-billion Indian outsourcing industry in anticipation of the protectionist regime under President Trump. Protectionism has been a popular election rhetoric across nations, and more so in recent times. And the voting masses seem to like it. Will Trump’s campaign cry for protectionism cross the boundaries of poetic drama and come alive as laws? There is no doubt that US being the largest consumer nation in the world, governments across the globe will keep a close watch on Trump’s policies. India will be no exception. The hot-button topic for India – ‘outsourcing’, has surfaced again and the impact of Trump’s announcements, be it restrictions on H-1B visas or penal taxes on US companies for outsourcing jobs, is being felt already in India. And this, coming during times when India's outsourcing industry has been experiencing a rough patch isn't an encouraging development. How hard will an avalanche of protectionist measures from the Trump regime hit India's outsourcing industry?
Our Sourcing From India Will Double In The Next Few Years
It's a known fact that the Indian government is working hard to increase defence and aerospace procurement from indigenous sources – from the current 40% to 70%, in the next 10 years. The Dollar Business recently caught up with Pratyush Kumar, President, Boeing India, to understand how manufacturers in India can leverage growth opportunities and what makes India a preferred sourcing destination for the American aircraft-maker.
