Finance Minister vows to amend Land Act; promises non-aggressive tax policy

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has asserted that India will amend tough land acquisition and bring tax reforms to boost investments and kick start the domestic economic growth. Highlighting importance of business friendly regulations in the country, Arun Jaitley stated that there is a need to change tough land acquisition law to speed up the process of buying land for industrial use, a contentious issue in India which has long delayed projects. Finance Minister also promised a reasonable, non-aggressive and rational tax policy to make India a hub of low-cost manufacturing. On the insurance sector, Jaitley expressed hope that the long-pending Insurance Amendment Bill, that seeks to raise FDI in the sector from existing 26 percent to 49 percent, will get Parliament nod in the upcoming Winter Session. Regarding the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Jaitley stressed that the government is in the final stages of talks with states on the issue, hinting that amendments to GST may be introduced in the Winter session of Parliament. On ambitious divestment programme in public sector banks, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley emphasized that the government is planning to bring down its stake in public sector banks to 52 percent so that a large amount of capital, almost close to Rs 3 lakh crore, can be introduced into banks.