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India's growth resilient despite external threats: Nirmala Sitharaman

 


ISTANI Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman speaks during the plenary meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee, in Washington DC.

Despite exogenous threats, India's well-targeted policy mix, coupled with major structural reforms and a strong external balance sheet, have helped its growth remain resilient: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said India's well-targeted policy mix along with major structural reforms and a strong external balance sheet have helped its growth remain resilient, despite exogenous threats.

The Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs was speaking during the seventh annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) via video conference in New Delhi on Wednesday, an official statement said.

The Finance Minister shared his views in the Governor's Round Table Discussion on the topic 'Financing Infrastructure in a Crisis-Prone World'. In his intervention, the Minister commended the AIIB for its continued commitment and dedication to assisting the members and providing high quality development finance.

Sitharaman stressed that India has embarked on the path of a self-reliant economy and hence has been successful in mitigating the negative effects of the pandemic.

The Finance Minister underlined India's remarkable progress through its digitalization mission using technology to facilitate social security and promote financial inclusion. He also highlighted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was actively leading India's climate change response efforts through various programs such as 'Lifestyle for Environment' (or LiFE), among others.

The Finance Minister suggested that AIIB should increase investment in key priority areas including clean energy and energy efficiency, disaster resilient infrastructure, social infrastructure to ensure that meaningful impact is achieved and resources are not scattered across multiple sectors. needed. Focus on education and health, and digital infrastructure.

As the public resources alone are insufficient to meet the huge infrastructure needs of the members, the Minister advised that the Bank should play a catalytic role not only in mobilizing diverse private sector resources, but also in augmenting its own resources. Mechanisms should be explored, including prompt action on recommendations. In relation to the report of the G20 Expert Panel on the Capital Adequacy Framework (CAF) of the MDB.

Further, the Finance Minister also pointed out that beyond its financial support, AIIB should work towards expanding the scope of its mid-stream and upstream engagement activities such as helping clients translate strategies into investment plans. To increase technical support. Lastly, Sitharaman suggested that the bank should set up full-fledged country offices at member locations.

Finally, the Finance Minister assured the AIIB of India's continued cooperation in achieving its mandated mission.

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