Jaitley meets FMs of Indonesia, Australia

Washington (USA): Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has discussed areas of collaboration with his Indonesian and Australian counterparts at bilateral meetings here.

Jaitley, who is in the US to attend the Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank, discussed with the finance ministers of the two countries possible areas of mutual collaboration and commonality of their positions at various multilateral fora.

Jaitley is accompanied by RBI Governor Urjit Patel, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das and Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian.

Das held a separate meeting with representatives of credit rating agency Moody’s, an official statement said.

During the meeting, Das stressed that India is recording GDP growth of over 7 per cent at a time of stagnant global trade, subdued investment and heightened policy uncertainty.

Das also elaborated various steps taken by the Indian government for boosting growth, generating employment and financial inclusion.

The US-based agency has a ‘Baa3’ rating, a notch above the investment grade, on India with a positive outlook.

The Indian economy is estimated to have grown 7.1 per cent in 2016-17. As per the Economic Survey, growth will pick up to 6.75-7.5 per cent in the current financial year.