Farmers Movement Archive

‘How long can I go on putting money that fails to perform?’

NEW DELHI: The government has bet on infrastructure spending as it is confident that the multiplier effect will pull the economy to a higher growth trajectory, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday while asserting that the protest against farm laws was not a deterrent to the bold move to push ahead with privatisation of state-run firms, banks and an insurance company. “It was very clear during consultations that a good amount of public spending, particularly on infrastructure, is one recipe where the multiplier effect is big. And because of the multiplier, the result that you expect is sure-shot. Besides, when you do this instead of delivering money into people’s hands, the quality of expenditure can be monitored,” Sitharaman told TOI. She said privatisation of banks and other PSUs had become inevitable to protect taxpayers’ money. “From among the banks, we want many, many more State Bank-like banks... but some of them are in a very worrisome situation. After all, I am dealing with taxpayers’ money, how long can I go on putting money that fails to perform?” she said. Sitharaman denied the suggestion that the government was wary of going ahead with yet another reform measure at a time of protests against the farm laws. She also expressed surprise at speculation over a Covid cess and said no such proposal was ever discussed. “It was never considered. Not a single paisa in new tax,” she said.

The Times of India

2021-02-02

Business