India can be global growth engine: Jaitley

The Union Minister for Finance, Corporate Affairs and Information & Broadcasting, Arun Jaitley meeting the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Japan, Taro Aso, in Tokyo, Japan on May 29, 2016.

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SME Times News Bureau | 01 Jun, 2016
With the Chinese slowdown making the world look for other growth drivers, India can become a powerful driver of economic growth, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said here on Tuesday.

"The ability of China to shoulder that percentage of growth may not be there and, therefore, the world also is now looking for other shoulders to rest its growth on," he said speaking at 'The Future of Asia' Conference here organised by Japan's Nikkei Inc.

"And since we have a lot of infrastructure deficit and expenditure still to undertake -- I think all that is going to be a very powerful driver of economic growth in India," Jaitley, who is on a six-day tour of Japan to promote India as an investment destination said.

Jaitley also said that no one country can really replace another because the world has enough space for major economies to emerge.

China's current slowdown, he said, has meant it is "going through a structural transition into a more consumption, service oriented economy."

"But China will always remain a major economy," he added.

Jaitley said while global growth has slowed down to around three per cent and the developed world seems to be growing at an even lesser pace, Asia has maintained a growth rate of around six per cent.

"Chinese slowdown did impact the average Asian growth, which is now anticipated to be about 5.7 per cent. The Chinese developments do certainly impact on Asia," he said.

"But I have not the least doubt that an economy of that size even with the normal that they now predict, or something less than the normal, would still have a great impact both on Asia and the world," he added.

Asia has now become the recipient of 40 per cent of global foreign direct investment, Jaitley noted.

"Whether it is the Asean, Saarc, RCEP or TPP. India always had a very important and powerful message for Asia."

"So I think the structures for ensuring that peace in the region are still structures that are evolving as the economy of Asia is evolving and I am quite sure that India will be a major stabilising force in the region," he said.