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New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today expressed the government’s resolve to achieve the growth rate of 8-9 per cent by accelerating the reforms process through the introduction of Direct Tax Code and Goods & Services Tax, reworking of GAAR and a transparent land acquisition regime.Inaugurating the 85th Annual General Meeting of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the Prime Minister said, “The Cabinet has approved the constitution of a Cabinet Committee on Investment. This would help in the issue of clearances for major projects in a time-bound manner. We will speed up the disinvestment process which will also revive our equity markets.”The Prime Minister announced that the government was bringing greater clarity into the FDI policy in the pharma sector. The Railways, he said, were working on a Rail Tariff Authority which will make fare setting a more rational exercise. “We have already put in place a package for reviving discoms contingent on better performance. The Direct Tax Code and the Goods and Services Tax Bills are high on our priority and the Land Acquisition Bill recently approved by our Cabinet should soon usher in a more fair and transparent regime for land acquisition”, he added.On the Aadhar-based direct cash transfer, the Prime Minister said this will reduce leakages, cut down corruption, eliminate middlemen, target beneficiaries better and speed up transfer of benefits to eligible individuals. “It will, at one go, bring in crores of people into our banking system and mainstream them into our economy”, he added.

Giving the rationale for reforms, Manmohan Singh said given the global environment, investors have become risk averse and global trade has slowed down. “To address this challenge, we have liberalised our policy on foreign direct investment. Our decision on foreign direct Investment in multi-brand retail, civil aviation, power-trading exchanges and broadcasting must also be viewed in this larger context,” he said.

“Bills on liberalising FDI limits in banking and insurance are currently before Parliament. Each of these decisions is based on sound economic logic. I am afraid that those who oppose these moves are either ignorant of global realities or are constrained by out-dated ideologies”, he added.