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US wants greater access to Indian financial market
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 28
India has outgrown its financial system, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Monday, calling for cooperation on reforms that would deepen India’s capital markets and allow US firms more access to them.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee with US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in Washington DC. — PTI

Geither made the point that India’s future growth would depend on the success of the next wave of reforms. He added Indian economy had outgrown the financial system. Geithner and Indian Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, were interacting at a conference on US- India Economic and Financial Partnership jointly organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Brookings Institution in Washington on Monday.

Geithner’s comments come at a time when reforms and decision making is in a limbo with the UPA government caught up in fire-fighting and battling scandals and agitations over corruption.

Geithner added the Indian economy needed huge amounts of infrastructure financing and capital financing for running business.

He added the success of the Indian economy would depend on substantial expansion based on successful financial reforms.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee hand assured the gathering that economic reforms are a continuous process and the UPA government is committed to it and has started a series of reforms in the field of financial sector, taxation and infrastructure. Mukherjee asserted that economic reforms have not slowed down, and reform is a continuous process.

“The UPA government is committed to it. It (reforms) is a constant exercise. We are doing so. Structural reforms have been done. Reforms in the mutual funds market, insurance sector, banking sectors, pension, etc are underway and the necessary legislations have been introduced in Parliament,” he said. He added that the government had to have consensus from the other parties to get these bills passed in Parliament. 

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