India needs to move to low interest rates: Arun Jaitley

In the face of widespread criticism over the government’s cutting interest rates on small savings schemes, finance minister Arun Jaitley defended it Sunday, saying India had to “move towards lower interest rates to make the economy more efficient”. The minister hoped GST and the Bankruptcy Bill will be passed in the second half of the Budget Session, saying differences over GST seemed to be “narrowing down” and he, with parliamentary affairs minister M. Venkaiah Naidu, would make “more efforts” to get the Congress on board.

Mr Jaitley said interest rates on small savings schemes were “formula-based” and the government used its own resources to subsidise these schemes over and above the rates set by the market.