File Photo: Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu
Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today said important bills like GST Bill and Real Estate Bill need to be passed for economic development, even as he noted that 30 per cent of Indians live below the poverty line.
"We have 30 per cent of Indians living below poverty line. The government has recorded 7.3 per cent GDP growth. If the same pace of growth is continued for two to three years, there is a possibility of India overtaking China's growth rate," he said.
"Initially, the government faced a lot of problems like fiscal deficit, revenue deficit, trade deficit, current account deficit and a trust deficit. We must pass GST Bill, Real Estate Bill and Negotiable Instruments Bill. Mudra scheme has to be strengthened further," he said.
He said that contrary to public notion that large industries create more employment opportunities, it is small enterprises which employ as many as 12 crore people.
"It is the small enterprise sector which our PM wants to target through the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana in order to help budding entrepreneurs," he said.
He said that Reserve Bank of India has allotted Rs 20,000 crore for Mudra Yojana to provide refinance to last mile financiers.