Chennai: “The Indian economy is increasingly getting integrated with the global economy. The foreign exchange reserve position is comfortable and the current account deficit is well under control. Consequently India’s foreign exchange reserves have crossed $400 billion,” said Tamilnadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit while delivering a speech at an event organised by the Hindustan Chamber of Commerce, here.
“The rapid growth of the Indian economy in recent years augurs well for the future giving us all more reasons to be happy. India has retained its position as the third largest startup base in the world with over 4,750 technology startups, with about 1,400 new start-ups being founded annually,” he said after presenting the Champion of Humanity awards at the Chamber Day celebrations.
Purohit stated that India’s ranking in 2018 in the World Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing Business’ report improved by 30 spots over the 2017 ranking. “Today we are ranked 100 in the list of 190 countries figuring in the report.”
Mentioning the World Bank’s forecast about Indian economy, he said, “India’s share in world trade is growing and top export destinations of India are the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, China and the United Kingdom. The top import origins are China, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Switzerland. It should therefore come as no surprise to us that the World Bank sees India as the fastest growing major emerging economy for the next three years. It is expected that economy will see a robust GDP growth of around 7.5 per cent annually during this period.”
“India is also on the threshold of realising the full benefits of the demographic dividend. The average age of the population of about 125 crores is 29 years and more than half the population is below the age of 25 years. This augurs well for both short term and long term growth,” the Governor said and added that at least ten million Indian youth enter the country’s workforce each year.
Speaking about the role of Chambers of Commerce, Purohit said, “(They) can play a major role in collaborating with universities and colleges to impart skill training. This would help us to bridge the gap between the need of industries and the skills sets of the students and thus create job opportunities.”
“It must always be remembered that a nation’s growth is dependent on its health and educational attainments and on the focus given to infrastructure. For this resources are needed.”
Purohit also spoke about Income Tax and black money in his speech. He said, “The government is focused on widening the tax base and in curbing black money so that income tax evasion is eliminated. I remember a time when Income Tax rates used to be about 90 per cent. Now the rates are very reasonable i.e. only about 30 per cent. Therefore there is no reason for any citizen of the country to avoid payment of income taxes if he is liable to do so. We should understand that payment of taxes fully and promptly is the duty of every citizen. Chambers of Commerce and Industry can play a useful role in promoting a spirit of healthy tax compliance in the country.”