GST Council seeks revenue growth without public burden: Finance Minister

New Delhi [India], April 1 (ANI): Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman emphasized on Tuesday that financial matters of the country and states should remain above politics.
Speaking at the launch of the 'NITI NCAER States Economic Forum' portal in New Delhi, Sitharaman highlighted the balanced approach taken by the GST Council, where finance ministers from various states work together to increase revenue without overburdening citizens.
"When it comes to finances of the country, when it comes to the finance of the central government or of the states, it cannot be politics," Sitharaman stated during the event, which marked the unveiling of the new data repository developed jointly by NITI Aayog and the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER).
The Finance Minister emphasized that raising revenue remains crucial for meaningful development interventions but must be balanced with responsible debt management.
"You want money, you want to raise revenues. You want to have that comfort that you are better placed, so that you can think in terms of more meaningful intervention for development," she said.
Sitharaman cautioned about growing debt concerns worldwide, noting that despite India being the fastest-growing economy, debt management remains a significant challenge.
"All over the world, if there's a struggle to become a faster-growing economy, equally, there's a big struggle to contain your borrowing. Countries have become so debt-ridden," she warned.
The minister praised the GST Council's approach, which involves making decisions collectively based on data rather than political considerations.
"Through the GST Council, we are able to prove that the hard look is actually the realistic look," she said, adding that when finance ministers from different political backgrounds examine the facts together, "all differences vanish."
"That is why sometimes people think we are haranguing ourselves in the GST Council. But I'm glad for it because eventually, people are looking at the facts before them and taking a call, a collective call, because it's one nation, one facts," Sitharaman remarked.
The event was also addressed by Suman K Bery, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog; BVR Subrahmanyam, CEO, NITI Aayog; and Poonam Gupta, Director General, NCAER.
The newly launched portal serves as a comprehensive repository of data spanning approximately 30 years (1990-91 to 2022-23), covering social, economic and fiscal parameters, research reports, papers, and expert commentary on State Finances. It aims to facilitate better understanding of macro, fiscal, demographic, and socio-economic trends in a user-friendly format, while addressing the need for consolidated sectoral data in one place.
The portal will enable benchmarking data of individual states against other states and national figures, providing a valuable platform for policymakers, researchers, and other stakeholders to engage in informed debates and discussions. (ANI)