Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday defended Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s austerity call, stressing the need to focus on the “3Fs”, fuel, fertiliser and forex, amid the West Asia crisis.
Speaking at the 37th foundation day event of Sidbi here, she also hit out against naysayers who have built a cynical and pessimistic narrative after the Prime Minister’s appeal and underlined that India cannot afford fearmongering at this stage. The crisis is borne by external events, and the domestic economy continues to be positive and resilient, the finance minister said.
Naysayers have created a “cynical and pessimistic narrative” after the Prime Minister's appeal for austerity, she said, stressing that such observations are factually incorrect.
“It (the narrative) is wrong because it is fear-mongering. India cannot afford fear-mongering. We need to give confidence to the people with our words and with our actions,” she said.
Fuel prices are high, gold prices have climbed to elevated levels, creating concerns on the external front, and there is an “unimaginable increase” in fertiliser prices, she said, contextualising the call made by the Prime Minister. Therefore, there is a need to look at conserving forex, she said, adding that there is a need to focus on the 3Fs of fuel, fertilisers and forex in the current context.
Stating that India’s policy response has been calibrated to preserve domestic growth, Sitharaman said the cut in diesel and petrol excise duties will lead to a revenue impact of Rs 1 lakh crore. Some “naysayers” have jumped into the debate following the Prime Minister's appeal, claiming that everything is “crumbling”, which is factually incorrect, she said, listing out a slew of indicators showing buoyancy in the economy, including GST collections and automobile sales.
“All the good that is being done by the common people themselves is forgotten. And a pessimistic, cynical narrative is generated, which is just not right. We should appreciate that the challenges are more externally driven. We must also recognise that India's domestic economic situation remains positive and resilient even today,” the finance minister said.
She also highlighted that the issue of Rs 8.1 lakh crore locked in delayed payments for MSMEs is impacting their working capital and growth, and urged public sector undertakings not to exceed the 45-day window to make payments to them.
‘Govt gave up ₹1 lakh crore through excise duty cuts to check inflation’
Sitharaman said the government had foregone more than Rs 1 lakh crore annually in tax revenues through excise duty cuts on petrol and diesel to shield consumers from fuel inflation triggered by the West Asia conflict, while defending the latest retail fuel price hikes as market-driven revisions by oil marketing companies in response to soaring global crude oil prices.
“The increases now are coming from oil marketing companies (OMCs) because they are the ones procuring (raw material crude oil) and selling (finished product - fuel),” she said on the sidelines of the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council export awards event.
“Had the excise duty not been slashed earlier, an increase of Rs 10 would have happened. Had we not given that reduction at that time, a Rs 10 increase would have happened, which we absorbed, that is almost a Rs 1 lakh crore hit on the functional budget. But the increases now are coming from OMCs, because they are the ones procuring and selling,” she added.
Also read: Public sector banks told to adopt austerity measures, shift to EV
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