Finance Minister Arun Jaitley meets officials to address economic slowdown

New Delhi: Taking stock of the economic slowdown in the country, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, at a meeting with top bureaucrats on Tuesday, lay out a broad framework for bolstering growth with a focus on speedy implementation of policies.

This meeting took place after the one with Prime Minister Narendra Modi got cancelled earlier in the day. The prime minister is expected to take a call on the key points of the discussion later.

The meeting was attended by Railways Minister Piyush Goyal, Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu and other chief officials from the finance, commerce and industry ministries. Railway board chairman and several officials from the prime minister’s office and NITI Aayog also attended the meeting. Chief Economic Advisor, who earlier in the month, had briefed the prime minister about the economic condition, was also present.

As each ministry gave its suggestion to improve the 5.7 per cent GDP – the lowest in three years, Jaitley highlighted the need for fast-tracking the implementation of policies. According to NDTV, the Commerce Ministry was directed to incentivise exports and oversee the removal of GST disruptions.

The meeting also reportedly focused on the spending on infrastructure.

The meeting comes days after the data from the government pegged inflation at a worrying high. The slowing GDP also reflected the residual impact of the shock ban of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in 2016 and also the disruptions caused by the newly rolled out Goods and Services Tax.

The current account deficit (CAD) in the April-June quarter also widened to 2.4 per cent of the GDP due to an increased trade gap.