Nirmala set to nudge CM's to ease land laws

New Delhi: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will on Monday meet chief ministers and state finance ministers to discuss measures to attract private investments to help boost the economy. Finance secretary T. V. Somanathan said the meeting comes in the backdrop of strong economic recovery post the two Covid waves, and the central government has made a big push in capex.

The focus of this interaction will be on state-level issues, opportunities and challenges, which will enable us to go to a higher trajectory of investment and growth, he said.

"There is capital expenditure from the government side, and there is a positive sentiment from the private sector side, though perhaps not fully translated into actual investment in big scale. (But) capital market activity indicates that a lot of investment is probably on the cards.

"This positive sentiment is something that the government believe should be capitalised on in order to take India forward to a higher, sustainable growth trajectory. It's an opportunity, an opportunity that we should not let go," Somanathan said.