Don’t panic, we are still strong: Arun Jaitley

Trying to reassure inves-tors amid biggest weekly drop in Sensex in over six years, finance minister Arun Jaitley said on Friday that investors must keep faith in the “inherent strength” of Indian economy rather than getting swayed by the global headwinds.

Just weeks before the Union Budget, Mr Jaitley said the government will continue to pursue policies to support growth amid global slowdown.

“It would be a part of prudent investment reaction that the inherent strength of Indian economy is kept in mind by investors, rather than react disproportionately to what the global developments are,” said the finance minister.

Mr Jaitley noted that a major sell-off in global markets has created a chain reaction impacting the markets world over including in India.

“There could be several reasons, which are predominantly outside the country — the uncertainty in the Fed rate or what’s happening in Europe or the slowdown anticipated in China. Now, these global factors will remain and will have to be tackled globally by those economies,” said the finance minister.

He pointed that there “need not be any exaggerated panic in India for the reason that India as an economy even in the midst of global slowdown has clearly stood out to maintain a 7.5 per cent plus growth rate”.

On the capital requirement of the banks, he promised to provide the required capital as they have an important role to play in supporting the Indian economy.

On further push for GDP growth, he said the government is formulating policies and “is conscious of the areas of support which are required to be given to the economy and fully committed to providing those support.”