Nirmala Sitharaman Asks G-20 Nations to Take Steps to Revive Growth

New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday called on to undertake steps to revive global growth and create the second wave of reforms.

Nirmala Sitharaman said G-20 nations, comprising 19 countries and the European Union must “navigate the global policy coordination” by taking strong steps towards “building buffers and catalyzing the second wave of reforms”. “Sitharaman emphasized that the G-20 has the responsibility to navigate the global policy coordination in effective fashion by identifying and taking strong measures for building buffers and catalyzing the second wave of reforms,” a Finance Ministry statement said.

“She gave a clarion call for concerted action in the face of the global slowdown. She also highlighted that the emerging market economies, in particular, face the challenge of achieving economic growth and inclusive development while pursuing sustainable financing,” said the statement.

The minister is leading the Indian delegation to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meeting in Washington DC. The FM re-emphasized the need for G-20 to ensure collective action so as to enable global growth to regain pace.

Sitharaman led the Indian delegation at G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors as well as the BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meetings on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings.

Earlier this week, the IMF downgraded global growth for 2019 to 3% which is the slowest pace since the global financial crisis. At the same time, it also slashed economic growth forecast for India to 6.1% for the current fiscal from its July projection of 7%, citing weaker-than-expected outlook for domestic demand.

Rising protectionism and uncertainty around trade and geopolitics has affected the growth prospects of several emerging economies, it said.

Sitharaman on Thursday said countries must pursue structural reforms to counter the slowdown.

Under this, last month, the government announced a corporate tax cut for companies. The effective tax rate, including cess and surcharges, for the existing companies, will come down from 34.94% to 25.17%, while for new companies it will fall from 29.12% to 17.01% to put India back on the growth track. (IANS)

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