Union minister Giriraj Singh on Saturday claimed that China and Singapore did not face obstacles to growth as the kind of protests held at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi against government policies did not take place in those countries, PTI reported.
The street near Jantar Mantar is a popular venue for protests and demonstrations.
“Prasoon Mukherjee was talking about Singapore’s Gross Domestic Product,” said Singh. “I said to myself, Mukherjee sahab, Singapore does not have Delhi and Jantar Mantar where people gather to protest against the policies announced by the government. Neither you [Singapore] nor China have a Jantar Mantar.”
The minister of state for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises was speaking at the “MSME Convention’’ during the ongoing Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit.
Singh was responding to Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vice Chairman Prasoon Mukherjee’s remarks that Singapore, despite being a small nation, had achieved excellent economic development.
Singh claimed that India is competing with China and is the fastest-growing economy in the world despite protests at Jantar Mantar, The Indian Express reported. According to the World Bank’s estimates, India will continue to grow at a rate of more than 7.5% despite criticism that the Goods and Services Tax will lower the country’s Gross Domestic Product by 2%, he added.
Union Ministry of MSMEs Secretary Arun Kumar Panda said that GST implementation had led to a greater “formalisation” in the sector. “Out of 1.17 crore registrations in the Goods and Services Tax Network, more than one crore are actual MSMEs,” he said. “So it means that these MSMEs who were in the informal sector are gradually coming to the formal sector.”
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