After getting a majority stake to form a government at the Centre, the Narendra Modi led government has taken up a various range of measures to improvise the economy of the country. One such measure is the recent introduction of Goods and Services Tax.

Apart from eliminating the cascading effect of the tax on the countrymen, the introduction of GST has made India be one of the fastest growing economies in wold during the current scenario.

Mr. Subhash Chandra Garg, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India said that the big reforms undertaken by the Government of India for raising economic growth and maintaining macroeconomic stability have made India one of the fastest growing major economies in the world.

He was addressing the Special Event hosted by US-India Strategic Partnership Forum on 'Indian Economy: Prospect and Challenges' in Washington D.C. USA on April 20, 2018.

He added that the launch of the Goods and Service Tax (GST) represents a historic economic and political achievement, unprecedented in Indian tax and economic reforms, which has rekindled optimism on structural reforms.

He further emphasized that India carried-out such major reforms when the Global Economy was slow. With the cyclical recovery in global growth amid supportive monetary conditions and the transient impact of the major structural reforms over, India will continue to perform robustly.

Of the four Sessions of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) of the IMF being held during the Spring Meetings, the first two sessions - Introductory Session and the Restricted Session on Early Warning Exercise (EWE) - were held on April 20, 2018, Secretary (EA) participated in both these Sessions. The IMFC Introductory Session was focused was Global Developments and Prospects while the EWE was focused on Upcoming Risks to the Global Economy.

On the sidelines of the 2018 Spring Meetings of the World Bank and IMF in Washington D.C. the Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Garg also held bilateral meetings with the General Director of Treasury, France; CEO, GEF; and CEO, MIGA.

With CEO GEF, Garg discussed the ongoing negotiations for the current replenishments (GEF6) being undertaken in the Facility. With CEO MIGA, he discussed the potential of engagement of MIGA in India and with Indian companies.

He also met with USAID and discussed areas of cooperation for cost-effective innovations and best practices in the field of development. He attended a Dinner Round Table organized by the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF).

The Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Garg is currently on an official tour to Washington D.C. to attend the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank and other associated meetings. He is accompanied by Mr. Urjit Patel, Governor, RBI and other senior officials.

Source: PIB