The Narendra Modi-led NDA government will once again reach out to the Opposition Congress to evolve a consensus on passing the crucial Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill during the Budget session of Parliament, said Minister for Coal Piyush Goyal on the sidelines of a Make in India seminar in Mumbai on Monday.
“Our government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is always willing to talk, always willing to accommodate sensible ideas, always wanting to take forward the development of this country in the interest of 125 crore Indians. All our actions are to create consensus on GST. You will appreciate that every party, except one, is on board. Every party of different ideology is supporting it, and then there is some ulterior motive, why is one party trying to stall the whole process?” asked Mr. Goyal.
The Budget session of Parliament is likely to start on February 23.
“There will be many more conversations with the Congress, if conversations can solve the problem. I am happy to commit that we are willing to talk every day, if they are willing to accept,” Mr. Goyal said.
Addressing the seminar on opportunities in the power and coal sector, Mr. Goyal said $1 trillion worth of investments were expected in the power sector by 2030, of which $250 billion would be committed in the next five years. He said that comprehensive reforms and the new tariff policy would create a paradigm shift in power sector investments.
Instead of imposing higher tariffs, the Modi government was focusing on addressing inefficiencies, losses and power theft to improve the power scenario. Mr.Goyal said the government’s LED programme would save 100 billion units of electricity and $6.5 billion every year for consumers. India’s global share of LED consumption had gone up from 0.1 per cent to 12 per cent in just two years, he said.
