India has standardised itself for 7-8% growth: Arun Jaitley

NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said India has standardised itself for a 7-8 per cent growth rate on the back of improving macroeconomic fundamentals.

"India has standardised itself ordinarily for a growth rate between 7 to 8 per cent. If it slows down, it is more towards 7 and if it paces up it is more towards 8 per cent growth. It's already close to $2.5 trillion economy in terms of GDP," he said while delivering a lecture here.

Observing that country has moved away from old era of double digit inflation, he said, "our statutorily fixed target is 4 per cent. We have been able to keep our current account deficit under control, and over the last few years India has had exemplary performance in terms of being able to bring down its fiscal deficit," he said.

The net effect of all these is that India is getting closer to a situation where the country can spend what it earns, and borrows relatively less, he said."One of the great challenges which remained in India and that directly impinges on the creation of the world class infrastructure is that India was largely a tax non-complaint society," he said.

Noting that the funding requirement for infrastructure in the country is huge, he said, the sector needs investment of Rs 50 lakh crore over the next five years.
India has spent Rs 60 lakh crore in infrastructure during 2007-17.

In recent time, the government has increased infrastructure spending, he said, adding the Budget 2017-18 made allocation of Rs 3.96 lakh crore for infrastructure sector.