Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday said he was satisfied with the performance of the Indian economy in "a year of turmoil and volatility" globally. He dismissed grumblings about the economy not having taken off as cynicism, calling it "a way of life in India". He also expressed optimism that India's growth rate of 7-7.5% would improve further in the months to come, reported PTI.

Jaitley said India has responded well to the challenge posed by the global economic slowdown, but acknowledged that there are areas in which the government has to respond faster. Outlining his priorities for the new year, the finance minister said he will continue with structural reforms. He said the priorities would include passing the Goods & Service Tax Bill, rationalising direct taxes, and further easing the system of doing business in the country.

"After having done that, I would like to concentrate essentially on three things – more money for physical infrastructure, more money on social infrastructure, and lastly more money on irrigation because that is a neglected sector," Jaitley said.