NEW DELHI: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the government is planning to bring down its stake in PSU banks to 52 per cent so as to meet Rs 3 lakh crore capital requirement. The move could help PSU banks to raise capital to meet the Basel-III norms.
As per law, government holding at any moment must not come below 51 percent to maintain the public sector character of PSU banks.
He also said that tax policy can't be ultra aggressive given the challenges before the economy.
The Finance Minister also said the government will amend the tough land acquisition law even if the opposition does not support as it looks to restore confidence in the economy.
“Economy was and is in a challenging situation and one of the primary challenge is to restore confidence in economy,” Jaitley said.
Jaitley was speaking at India Global forum. Arun Jaitley opened the two-day India Global Forum meeting, beginning today in New Delhi.
“I hope Insurance Amendment Bill may be passed in the ensuing winter session of Parliament,” Jaitley said.
Hinting that amendments to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) may be introduced in the ensuing Winter session of Parliament, Jaitley said the government was in the final stages of talks with states on the issue.
The GST regime aims at subsuming most of the indirect taxes at the central as well as state level. The UPA government in 2011 introduced a Constitution Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha to pave the way for introduction of GST.
The month-long Winter Session of Parliament is scheduled to commence on November 24.
The India Global Forum is organised by the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) and the Observer Research Foundation (ORF).
Jaitley will be followed by Minister for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman who will address the second plenary session "The New Global Economic Order - Multilateral Institutions and the New Regionalism".
Other speakers on the first day include Suresh Prabhu, Prime Minister Modi`s G-20 Sherpa, Yasutoshi Nishimura, a senior vice minister in the Cabinet Office, Japan, and Indonesian Deputy Foreign Minister Dino Patti Djalal.
On the second day, Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman of Bharti Airtel, will address the forum in a session titled "The Soft Power of Indian Enterprise".
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