Taking a dig at the economic policies of the previous UPA government, Union Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said the country's economy was revived by the Modi government and India has now become the hot favourite destination for foreign investors .

The Union Home minister exuded confidence that in a few years, India's economic growth would in double digit. Singh said: "A number of significant steps were taken when the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government came to power in late 1990s, due to which the GDP growth rate had touched 8 per cent and the the then prevailing global economic recession did not impact the country.

"But after 2004, even though there was growth initially, the momentum lost gradually. The country could not achieve the desired growth. They could not match the momentum achieved by the Vajpayee government.

"By 2014, the economic condition of the country further deteriorated. When the Modi government assumed charge, you all know what was the economic condition of the country," he said at a function of the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry in New Delhi.

"The UPA government was in power between 2004-14. The Home Minister said after the NDA government assumed charge in May 2014, the economy was put back on track and now the GDP growth rate is around 7.5 - 7.6 per cent.

"India has become the hot favourite destination for foreign investors. I am sure in a few years, India's economic growth would in double digit," he said.

Singh, however, said that he would not like to claim that prices of all essential commodities have come down but asserted that prices of many goods have come down significantly.

"Our political opponents say that prices of pulses have gone up, vegetable prices have gone up. They create a hue and cry over it. But we have taken a number of steps to reduce the prices. We have imported many essential commodities so that prices are under control," he said.

Singh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already made it clear that the prime objective of the government was to speed up the economic engine.

"The government has taken several significant steps and as a result not only domestic investors but foreign investors were getting confidence," Singh said.

"There is a sense of confidence among investors. This government means business, this government is business friendly, this government is investors friendly, a decisive government," he said.

The Union Minister said that the government has made many procedural and structural reforms while level of corruption has come down significantly and there was perception globally now that corruption has come down in India.

"There is complete transparency in government too. India will soon become one of the five top economies in the world. We are trying to make common people part of the development process," he said.

The GST bill, which subsumes all indirect taxes to create one rate and integrate the country into a single market is the biggest tax reform that is being undertaken since Independence.

The bill has been approved by the Lok Sabha and is pending approval of Rajya Sabha where the government lacks a majority.

The GST aims to cut red tape for taxpayers by replacing an array of central excise and state levies such as sales tax and VAT which currently range from 25 per cent to 30 per cent by a single rate of 18 per cent that is currently under consideration.

It will also end the practice of imposing a levy on goods coming from outside a state which sees long queues of trucks stuck at state barriers which also slows the movement of goods across the country.

The services tax which currently works out to 14.5 per cent after including the Swachh cess will go up to 18 per cent to bring it at par with the goods tax so that there is a uniform tax for both goods and services in the new GST regime.

The GST is expected to bring about a qualitative change in the tax system by redistributing the burden of taxation equitably between manufacturing and services. The Finance Commission had commissioned a study by NCAER to assess its impact on GDP growth and exports. Preliminary results of the study indicate that the growth in GDP can be between 2-2.5 per cent with the implementation of a welldesigned GST. The increase in exports can be between 10-14 per cent.

It is because of this reason that the government is keen to push through economic reform. Finance ministry officials say introducing the new tax could increase the revenues of the Centre and state governments substantially as all consumers would pay taxes on most goods and services. However, many state governments fear revenue losses as a result of GST being introduced, and a parallel discussion is also under way about how to compensate them, complicating efforts to reach a workable compromise.

The Empowered Committee of State finance ministers which met last week failed to reach a consensus over the threshold for levying the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) which is expected to further delay the introduction of this key economic reform.

While the Centre is of the view that threshold for levying central GST and state GST be kept at an annual turnover of Rs 25 lakh, some small states want it to be at Rs 10 lakh.

While some states are adamant that it should be Rs 10 lakh, others are of the view the limit should be higher as bringing small traders under GST would lead to an 'inspector raj' and harassment of businessmen.

It has now been decided to collect data from all states. The state finance ministers have referred to a sub-committee the issue of threshold below which small businesses would be exempted from the new levy.

Union Minister for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Saturday said the profitability of the Indian port sector by the end of current year will reach around Rs 6,000 crore.

The profit would be invested for creating assets to spur up growth, he said.

Addressing a session at the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry here, the minister said in the next five years the contribution of highways and shipping sector to national GDP would rise to two percent from current insignificant level.

With poised growth, the roads, highways and shipping sectors would be able to create 50 lakh employment opportunities, he said.

Gadkari said the infrastructure sector in India would witness massive changes and transformation in next few years as by then many four-lane roads and highways would be converted into eight-lane ones as also a large number of national highways be turned into expressways.

He said the necessary permissions and approvals for undertaking such assignments have been completed and hoped the bill relating to making 111 water-ways would be cleared in the winter session of parliament.

Relaxing the norms for aircraft imports, the Civil Aviation Ministry on Saturday said carriers would now be required to get the initial approval only from sectoral regulator DGCA .

The move would make the approval process easier for the domestic carriers, most of which are looking to expand their fleet.

Currently, scheduled as well as regional scheduled operators are required to seek the Ministry's approval for import and acquisition of aircraft.

The ministry has decided to delegate the power to grant "initial NOC (No Objection Certificate)/In-principle approval for import or acquisition of aircraft to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)," an official release said today.

The delegation of power is being done in order to simplify procedures as compliance of various Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) are regulated by the DGCA, it added.

To implement the changes with regard to approval framework for aircraft import, the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) and RBI have also amended their existing notification and master circular, respectively.

While the DGFT made the amendments on October 9, RBI effected the changes on November 26.

"DGCA has now been requested to make necessary amendment in the related CAR/Rules in accordance with it," the release said.

The easing of approval requirements also comes at a time when the ministry is working on a new aviation policy that seeks to provide various incentives for the sector.

Earlier this week, RBI said banks can allow advance remittances for aircraft imports once the company has approval from DGCA.

Previously, advance remittance was allowed by banks only when the importing entity had requisite approvals from Civil Aviation Ministry, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and other agencies.

"... banks may, while allowing advance remittance without bank guarantee or an unconditional, irrevocable standby letter of credit up to $50 million, ensure that only the requisite approval of DGCA for import of aircrafts/helicopters," have been obtained by the company, RBI had said.

India has a unique position among the 196 countries that are meeting in Paris on November 30 for the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference. It has a gigantic voluntary emission reduction commitment, given its relatively low per capita carbon emission.

The country has an estimated $2.5 trillion plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions per unit of GDP by 33-35 per cent from the 2005 levels and it hopes to do that by 2030 if things go according to plan. This is despite the fact that the per capita carbon emission (per tonne per person) in India is just 1.6 as against 16.4 in the United States and 7.4 in the European Union.

By voluntarily proposing a near impossible task, India is at the risk of losing face when it comes to honouring its commitment. The only way to avoid that is to make it clear that the proposal means nothing until there is sufficient financial and technical support to implement it.

There is a rationale to do it too. The climate change talks began in 1992 with an understanding that the industrialised or developed countries would - as they are the source of most greenhouse gas emissions - do the most to cut emissions on home ground. It was also agreed under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that developed nations would support climate change activities in developing countries by providing financial support for action. Over the years, leading polluters have tried to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, but they are still way above levels in India. For instance, China, United States and the European Union account for approximately 55 per cent of the annual global emissions. India has a 5.7 per cent share, but its population and development needs make it more difficult to scale down emissions than most of the developed countries. Despite the odds, India remains active in climate change negotiations through voluntary commitments. This is primarily because the country is also one of the most vulnerable to adverse effects of climate change.

Seen from this context, India's INDC is highly ambitious and reflects the serious socio-economic threat it faces from climate change. It aims to develop India's renewable energy capacity from the current 36 gigawatt (GW) to 250 GW or approximately 40 percent of the total energy production by 2030 (its current share in India is just 13 percent). Similarly, it wants to create an additional carbon storage and absorption capacity for 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2030, through greater forest and tree cover.

While the objectives are laudable, the fact remains that even if India meets its commitments it still does not insulate the country from the perils of climate change, a global phenomenon. For the World Bank prescribed solutions to work, the emission reduction and mitigation targets of the major polluters should be much greater than that of India. Emission reduction commitments and financial support to developing countries are both integral to the success of the Paris talks. Indeed, unless the negotiating parties agree to common and differentiated responsibilities, the agreement will not be comprehensive, balanced, equitable and pragmatic.

India has very little left to trade off in the Paris negotiations. It should have started off by offering less, and raised its commitment gradually on the basis of reciprocity. Now, having lost that chance, it should take a clear position that the implementation of these targets solely depends upon the international financial and technical help it receives and the level of commitments others make.

Fulfilment of these commitments also means huge business opportunities. India alone needs to spend $834 billion on mitigation activities while its estimates for implementing adaptation actions in agriculture, forestry, fisheries infrastructure, water resources and ecosystems is $206 billion. In energy sector alone, the investment will be about $7.7 billion.

The developed countries may not be the ones to be worst hit by changes in the climate. But they may benefit the most from the money spent on climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts.