Don't see India's rating downgrade: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said India enjoys an investment grade rating and she doesn't see a rating downgrade because of higher spending.

Replying to a debate on Finance Bill 2021 in the Rajya Sabha, she cited low inflation, higher GDP growth, record foreign investment and lower fiscal deficit to defend her government's handling of the economy. She attacked the Congress-led UPA government for leaving a 'mess' and mismanaging the economy which the Modi administration set right.

The measures taken in response to the 2008 global financial crisis by the UPA led to high inflation and 'taper tantrums', she said. Sitharaman further said average GDP growth between 2014 to 2019 was 7.5 per cent as against 6.7 per cent during 2009 to 2014 under UPA. Similarly, consumer price inflation was 10.3 per cent under five years of UPA rule, while during 2014-19 it was 4.8 per cent.

Fiscal deficit too has been contained at 3.65 per cent of the GDP during 2014-19 as compared to 5.3 per cent in the previous five years, she said, adding current account deficit has also improved from (-)3.34 per cent to (-)1.43 per cent. Foreign exchange reserves have grown from $303 billion in 2014 to $411.9 billion, she said, adding NPAs or bad debt declined to Rs 8.99 lakh crore as of March 2020.

Rajya Sabha okays Finance Bill 2021

The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday returned the Finance Bill 2021 without any new amendment, completing the Parliamentary approval for Budget 2021-22. The Upper House debated the amended Finance Bill 2021 that was approved by the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

It returned the Bill after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had to curtail her reply to the discussion on the legislation after a verbal spat with TMC members over implementation of central schemes such as PM Kisan Yojana and Ayushman Bharat in West Bengal.

While Sitharaman said the State government had not given names of farmers for giving cash help under the PM Kisan Yojana, TMC members countered saying the state had given the nod for the scheme and the minister was not speaking the truth. The two houses had previously approved the Appropriation Bill.