Sitharaman defends PM's austerity call; hits out at critics for peddling pessimism

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday defended Prime Minister Narendra Modi's austerity call, stressing the need to focus on the ''3Fs'' -- fuel, fertiliser and forex -- amid the West Asia crisis.

Speaking at the 37th foundation day event of Sidbi here, she also hit out against naysayers who have built a cynical and pessimistic narrative after the Prime Minister's appeal and underlined that India cannot afford fearmongering at this stage.

The crisis is borne by external events, and the domestic economy continues to be positive and resilient, the finance minister said.

Naysayers have created a ''cynical and pessimistic narrative'' after the Prime Minister's appeal for austerity, she said, stressing that such observations are factually incorrect.

''It (the narrative) is wrong because it is fear-mongering. India cannot afford fear-mongering. We need to give confidence to the people with our words and with our actions,'' she said.

Fuel prices are high, gold prices have climbed to elevated levels, creating concerns on the external front, and there is an ''unimaginable increase'' in the fertiliser prices, she said, contextualising the call made by the Prime Minister.

Therefore, there is a need to look at conserving the forex, she said, adding that there is a need to focus on the 3Fs of fuel, fertilisers and forex in the current context.

Stating that India's policy response has been calibrated to preserve domestic growth, Sitharaman said the cut in diesel and petrol excise duties will lead to a revenue impact of Rs 1 lakh crore.

Some ''naysayers'' have jumped into the debate following the Prime Minister's appeal, claiming that everything is ''crumbling'', which is factually incorrect, she said, listing out a slew of indicators showing buoyancy in the economy, including GST collections and automobile sales.

''All the good that is being done by the common people themselves is forgotten. And a pessimistic, cynical narrative is generated, which is just not right,'' she said.

''We should appreciate that the challenges are more externally driven. We must also recognise that India's domestic economic situation remains positive and resilient even today,'' the finance minister said.

She also highlighted that the issue of Rs 8.1 lakh crore locked in delayed payments for MSMEs is impacting their working capital and growth, and urged public sector undertakings not to exceed the 45-day window to make payments to them.

Meanwhile, Sitharaman also asked lenders to relook at the design of loans to tailor-make products, where repayments happen when an entity gets its revenues.

''My message to Sidbi and every banker here is that standard products cannot serve non-standard businesses,'' she said, citing examples of how the income generations of businesses vary across multiple activities.

At present, loans are typically given on a monthly repayment basis, which may be weekly as well in the case of microfinance.

''A farmer-linked enterprise does not earn every month. A resort does not earn evenly through the year. A garment exporter waits for payment after shipment. A small auto-comp supplier waits for invoice clearance. A woman entrepreneur may have regular transactions yet no property in her name,'' Sitharaman said.

''Why should all of them be given the same repayment structure?'' the finance minister questioned, asking Sidbi to take the lead to ensure that credit is designed around the business cycle of an enterprise.

Sitharaman also asked Sidbi to expand into a market maker and a risk-sharing partner for small enterprises, and not just be a lender for such companies.

She also urged the body to take care of the debt capital requirements of startups.

There can be a far-reaching economic impact of supporting MSMEs, she said, adding that 32 crore Indians are employed in MSMEs.

''If we get the MSME credit right, we get the Middle Class right. If we get the Middle Class right, we get Viksit Bharat right. It is that direct. Don't think that we can do banking the way we want and think all of them are disconnected,'' she said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)