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Hiding NPAs Or Balance Sheet Jugglery Won’t Help Anyone, Says Amit Shah 

Formal economy has been augmented by demonetisation: Amit Shah 

(Photographer: Vijay Verma/PTI)
(Photographer: Vijay Verma/PTI)

Cleaning banks’ balance sheets by focusing on the bad loans problems is one of boldest steps taken by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Narendra Modi government, according to party President Amit Shah.

Hiding the crisis faced by banks or balance sheet jugglery will not help anyone, Shah said while addressing industry leaders at an event organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

If there is an NPA (non-performing asset), there is an NPA. Not showing or juggling with balance sheets will not solve any problem. We will find a solution to the problem. We will sit with industry, banks and states to find the solution. But there was no point hiding it.
Amit Shah, President, BJP

The benefits of the government’s steps to tackle bad loans will be visible in the next 10-15 years, Shah added.

Demonetisation Augmented Formal Economy

Defending the government’s decision to demonetise high-value currency notes, Shah said the formal economy has benefitted as a result of the move despite the criticism that has been levelled against it.

We haven’t taken decisions keeping any vote bank in mind. We risked political setbacks to take decisions to improve India’s economy. And demonetisation is the best example of one such decision. A lot can be argued after RBI released the data. But I truly believe that formal economy has grown due to demonetisation.
Amit Shah, President, BJP

The government’s sudden decision to withdraw legal tender status for Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes with the aim to extinguish black money, fight terror funding and the problem of counterfeit notes, came under criticism after the Reserve Bank of India’s annual report showed that nearly 99 percent of the scrapped currency has been deposited in India’s banking system.

Taking a dig at the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance regime, the BJP president said that its tenure had seen a fall in economic growth even as fiscal deficit, inflation and foreign currency reserves suffered.

Before 2014, country was in an economic downfall under the UPA’s rule. GDP growth rate declined from 8 to 4.7 percent. Current account deficit increased to 5 percent. There was a policy paralysis in the UPA rule.
Amit Shah, President, BJP

Shah said not much should be read into the weak April-June quarter gross domestic product growth of 5.7 percent, adding that the economy is poised for a strong showing in the long-run on account of various reforms and other socially-relevant measures that would benefit the poor and the country at large.

If every house has a toilet, electricity and LPG cylinder will GDP increase or not?
Amit Shah, President, BJP

Speaking about the GST, he said that it was a bold and ambitious move by the government and will “ensure uniform growth for all the states and will also help them become more competitive”.

Shah concluded by saying while the government has changed the perception about India and boosted India’s brand by changing the scale of aspirations, it is the responsibility of industry bodies like the FICCI to work to publicise the work done by the government and help improve the perception about India.