Slowdown in economy is temporary: Veep

New Delhi, Oct 6: Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday disagreed with the critics of the government saying that as per the World Bank and industry, the slowdown in the economy due to GST was temporary and it will have a positive impact in the long run. Mr Naidu said the World Bank, as reported by newspapers, had said the decline in the economy due to GST in India was temporary which later on would have tremendous impact. He was addressing the gathering after inaugurating the International Conference on Technological Advancements in Railway & Metro Projects 2017, here on Friday. He said few days back there was a news which said the sale of cars has increase to more than 15 percent in recent times. The Vice-President said many big car companies such as Maruti, and FMCG manufacturers like Sony, Panasonic, Godrej have said there has been a substantial increase in the sale of their premium range products. He said the world was looking towards India and was keen to invest here. India has become the preferred destination for investors. Speaking about the development of the Railways, Mr Naidu said the Indian Railways need to plan for a massive expansion very meticulously with forward looking, efficient technologies and innovative practices currently available across the globe and adopt them to serve our country’s aspiring population. He added that the IT revolution was sweeping the world, and India has also been a major contributor which is bound to improve the efficiencies in signaling, communications and safety and help in areas like intelligent transportation systems. Stating that urbanisation was taking place at a rapid pace in India, he said the need for efficient and cost-effective transport was critical in ensuring faster mobility and sustainable development. He added that new concepts such as ‘Transit Oriented Development’ should be tried out and promoted which would improve the lives of people living around the metro stations in a big way. UNI