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India Will Emerge Stronger From Economic Slowdown, Says PM Modi

PM Modi reassured investors about their long-term bets on economy Government will spend Rs 100 lakh crore to develop infra: PM Modi PM Modi encouraged industry leaders to invest more in the economy

Government will spend Rs 100 lakh crore in coming years to develop infrastructure, PM Modi said.
Government will spend Rs 100 lakh crore in coming years to develop infrastructure, PM Modi said.

India will emerge stronger from an economic slowdown, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday. Reassuring investors about their long-term bets on the economy, PM Modi said: "During the tenure of previous governments GDP growth fell to as low as 3.5 per cent... the economy had in past also witnessed ups and downs but India will emerge stronger out of the slowdown." The Prime Minister was addressing an event organized by industry body ASSOCHAM. The remarks from PM Modi come at a time when the country's economy expanded 4.5 per cent in the July-September quarter, marking the slowest pace recorded in more than six years.

The government has set an ambitious goal of making India - once the poster child among the emerging markets - a $5-trillion economy by 2024.

The government will spend Rs 100 lakh crore in the coming years to develop the country's infrastructure further, PM Modi said on Friday.

He also said that the current government has cut the corporate tax rate and is lowest when compared with tax rate during the previous governments.

The economy is struggling against low consumption and thousands of job losses - with joblessness rate sinking to six-year lows - amid stress across sectors.

The government has in the recent past announced a range of measures, including withdrawal of higher taxes on foreign investors as announced in Budget and a cut in corporate taxes, to spur demand and revive growth.

In September, the government lowered the headline corporate tax rate to 22 per cent from 30 per cent in a surprise gambit aimed at wooing manufacturers and boosting investment in Asia's third-biggest economy.

"Today the corporate tax rate is lowest and our government is the one that collects lowest corporate tax," PM Modi said at the ASSOCHAM event in Delhi.

The government has brought discipline into the economy, which was headed towards disaster 5-6 years ago, PM Modi said.

PM Modi encouraged industry leaders to invest more in the economy. "You should invest freely and grow there will be no investigation against anyone," he told to industry leaders.