Arun Jaitley, the Person Who Leveraged India-U.S. Trade Relation Is No More


Former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley initiated several reforms to remold Indian economy and India-U.S. relationship.

FREMONT, CA: Lawyer turned politician Arun Jaitley is considered as BJP's go-to man in New Delhi and face behind the transformation of Indian economy. When Jaitley reigned, many significant reforms, including GST were initiated. In a statement, the U.S. Embassy said that Jaitley recognized the value of India-US relations and worked to boost economic ties. By leveraging the relationship that already exists and by creating a new platform for partnership, he laid a strong foundation for the India-U.S. bilateral relationships.

India-U.S. relationship has developed into a “global strategic partnership,” which was based on the shared democratic values and the increasing regional and global issues. The Government in India on development and good governance has created bilateral ties and enhance cooperation with the U.S. under the motto – “Forward Together We Go” and “Shared Effort, Progress for All.” The India-U.S. relationship is also known as “Enduring Global Partners in the 21st Century.”

In June, 2015 as the then Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley joined former U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner to discuss the Indian economy and presented the reforms undertaken by the new Indian government. He discussed India's economic changes and outlook for the future with U.S. people. He held several round table conferences with the investors. He addressed an interactive session jointly organized by industry chamber FICCI, and the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum. 

In a meeting with U.S. Commerce Secretary in April 2017, Jaitley sharply raised concerns over the move to tighten the H-1B visa regime. He is the one who created a hotline between the Prime Minister's Office and the U.S. White House.

By the great efforts of Arun Jaitley, the India-U.S. bilateral relationship has now become multi-sectoral. The sectors like agriculture, clean energy, trade and investment, defense and security, science and technology, education, high-technology, cybersecurity, civil nuclear energy, space technology and applications, environment, and health are covered under the hood of this relationship. India and U.S. developed a long-term framework with the wide-ranging and ever-expanding dialogue architecture. The regular political visits have given sustained momentum to this bilateral cooperation.

The former finance minister has not only worked to improve ties with the other countries but also have taken some initiative to reform the Indian economy. Here are five significant achievements of Arun Jaitley as India's Finance Minister:

1. Introduced Goods and Services Tax (GST)

Implementation of GST is considered as one of the biggest achievement of Arun Jaitley. Adding single-tax to cover all the state was an extraordinary task.

2. Bank Unification

No other Finance Minister even dared to think of merging government banks. Under the planning of Arun Jaitley, some of the biggest banks consolidated in India; Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank merged with Bank of Baroda. Meanwhile, 5 Associate banks & Bharatiya Mahila Bank merged with SBI. This decision helped save trillions of rupees for the Govt.

3. Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code (IBC)

IBC created a systematic and transparent framework for handling bankruptcies. Through IBC, banks can clean up their balance sheets and improve performance.

4. Boosted macro stabilization

India was counted among the fragile group for handling macros. Under the leadership of Jaitley, India attained space in spark groups of stabilizing macros.

5. FDI Liberalization

India eased several FDI policies in different sectors of Defense, Insurance, and Aviation. India gets billions of dollars in FDI. Demonetization was another big decision under Arun Jaitley, which helped India recover black money, and unleash a new chapter in financial policies.

A courteous and approachable personality who served as finance minister for five years is no more with us. Still, he will be remembered for his long and distinguished service to India. His efforts as a finance minister have created a golden history. He has left a mark on the Indian economy.

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