Budget 2017: Economists tell Arun Jaitley they want implementation of 'out of box' ideas

The economists told Arun Jaitley that provisions should be made in the next Budget to curb the generation of black money.

Changing union budget presentation to January — India's Finance Minister Arun Jaitley arrives at the parliament to present the federal budget for the 2016/17 fiscal year, in New Delhi, India, February 29, 2016 [Representational Image]Reuters File

During a pre-budget meeting with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi on Tuesday, some economists told him that the central government should come up with a budget comprising "out-of-box ideas" post demonetisation.

They also said that the upcoming union budget should not be a conventional one since the times have changed. "Rather, the government should make best use of the opportunity arising from demonetisation to present a Budget full of out-of box ideas. Members suggested that provisions should be made in the budget to ensure that generation of black money is curbed," a Finance Ministry statement said.

In his response, Jaitley pointed out that with the changing times (post demonetisation) India remains a bright spot in global economy and BRICS in particular. He also pointed out that the Narendra Modi government has taken many steps such as passing of GST Bill, institutional reforms like UDAY, banking reforms and focus on infrastructure, which would boost further growth.

The United States has become a weaker market than anticipated and Brexit (Britain's decision to exit the European Union) has led to negative reactions in the markets, Jaitley said in the statement.

The finance minister said that the country's banking sector is the backbone of the economy and that he did not see any serious issues as far as structural challenges were concerned. "Indian economy has made significant improvement as growth remain stable, and we are in comfortable fiscal and debt situation."

During the meeting, some economists also expressed the need of transparency on the government's part and wanted it to come out with a statement in the Budget that would clearly detail what costs have been incurred due to demonetisation.

The economists and representatives of the banking sector said "so next task should be to stop generation of black money in future. For this, government should incentivise people to move from informal to formal system and maximise use of e-payments," the statement read.