Indian economy was like a saree stuck in thorns in 2014: Sitharaman

Indian economy in 2014: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday that in the last ten years, the government has tried to steer the country's economy on the path of future-oriented reforms by taking it out safely like a saree stuck in thorns.

Sitharaman, while replying to the discussion on the White Paper in the Rajya Sabha, said that tall claims were made by the opposition about the economy which was inherited by this government.

She said that people from the ruling party also say that the economy was very good in its first five years because of the legacy that the UPA government got from the Atal Bihar Vajpayee government.

Sitharaman said that it has already been made clear that if this white paper had been brought earlier, the confidence of people and investors in their country, economy and institutions would have started to shake.

She said that the question is asked, “Why this white paper was brought now?” Sitharaman said that as an elected government, it is their responsibility to give information to the public through both Houses of Parliament as to what condition was the economy ten years ago and what level it has reached today.

Sitharaman said, “We were walking on two tracks. One was to fix the economy, correct the wrongs of the past, remove obstacles and along with this also pay attention to future-oriented reforms….."

She said that the process of economic reforms had started in 1991 but it was not completed or taken forward after 2004.  He said that the Modi government emphasised reforms, especially future-oriented reforms.

Giving the example of a Tamil proverb, the Finance Minister said that the economy his government got in 2014 can be compared to a saree stuck in a thorny bush, which is a challenge to get out safely from the thorns.

Sitharaman said that based on the state of the economy today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is saying with confidence that in his third term, India will be the country with the third largest economy in the world.