India can double economy in a decade: MoS Finance Jayant Sinha

LONDON: India can double its economy over the next decade from a $2 trillion economy to $4 trillion, Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha said today.

The minister also claimed that the foundations laid by the Narendra Modi government's first year in office would restore the country's economic growth to the 8 per cent mark.

"We inherited a macro-economic basket case which was teetering on the edge of some very serious macro-economic problems. In the last one year, we have achieved stabilisation and laid the foundations for robust and sustainable growth going forward," he said in his inaugural address at the India Inc Policy India Roundtable here.

"We can restore GDP to 8 per cent and if we can achieve that consistently over a decade then India, which is a $2 trillion economy, could easily double to a $4 to 5 trillion economy in the next 10-12 years," he said via video conference from his North Block office in New Delhi.

The second annual roundtable, held at the offices of Ashurst law firm in the financial district of the City of London, was focused on 'Making Business Easier: What does it mean for UK Plc?' and brought together senior policymakers as well as business professionals from both countries.

Sinha assured the foreign investors in the audience of a "stable, predictive and fair" tax regime to ensure "retroactive tax legislation" becomes a thing of the past.

"India's economic interests were deeply damaged by retroactive tax legislation introduced by the previous government.

Most of the problems we inherited and they are now in the judicial process but going forward, this government is committed to a stable, predictable and fair tax system," said Sinha, who also expressed confidence in having the Goods and Services Tax system in place by April 2016.

"GST will be a huge win for the Indian economy," he added.

The other sessions at the roundtable focussed on India's ambition to climb up the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business rankings as well as Make in India.

"The message is loud and clear that Indians are job makers and not job takers. Make in India is a win-win opportunity for both India and the UK," said Manoj Ladwa, CEO of India Inc-- a UK-based views and policy platform.