Bhubaneswar: Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan claimed that series of tax incentives announced by the Modi government will trigger more domestic as well as foreign investment and give a major boost to tourism.
Addressing the media here, Pradhan said in the next five years, infrastructure investment to the tune of Rs.100 lakh crore will be invested on roads, railways, water, aviation and telecommunication sector.
Such huge investment, he said, would strengthen the economy at the grassroots level and help the country to reach the five trillion dollar economy.
He said several positive steps taken by the Modi government has placed India as one of the countries with lowest tax regime in the South Asian region.
Describing the initiatives taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a historic decision, Pradhan said it would not only encourage new investment in the manufacturing sector but also expedite the ‘Make in India’ concept of the government.
The Union Minister said the tax incentives announced by Finance Minister Nirmal Sitharaman has attracted the investors to purchase shares in the Stock Exchange in the country and claimed that after the tax incentives, the Sensex shot up from 36,093 points to 38,017 points, a rise of 1924 points which has set a record in the history of stock exchange market.
Pradhan said the reduction of the GST on the hotels from 28 per cent to 18 per cent for rooms above 7,500/ night and 18 per cent to 12 percent for rooms with tariff 1001-7500/night is a big relief to the tourism industry and would certainly boost the tourism in the country and create more employment opportunity.
The pension scheme for the small traders having a turnover of less than 1.5 crore is a major step in ensuring social security, he said, adding that the decision to set up a Rs 20,000 crore fund for the stalled housing projects would help the lower, lower-middle and middle class people of the society.