India hit by Eurozone crisis, global downturn, says Mukherjee

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Chennai, Jan 7 : Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday conceded that the ongoing financial turmoil in the Eurozone had thrown a spanner in the works of the government's long-term and short term economic projections.

Speaking at thee inaugural session of the three-day international conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), Mukherjee identified the Eurozone crisis and the global economic volatility as the main factors hurting Indian economy.

Eurozone crisis and the slow recovery all over the world have also affected us. Volatility of the international commodity prices, particularly fuel, has adversely affected our short term and medium term projections," he said.he Finance Minister, however, added that Indian economy was bound to return to the growth trajectory by 2020, owing to its 'rich' demographic dividend.

"A vast number of technically competent professionals, managers, a large number of skilled manpower, moreover the demographic dividend, which will provide us the opportunity, by 2020 more than 60 percent of Indian population would be of the younger age, compared to any part of the world," said Mukherjee.

"Based on these basic fundamentals, I have no doubt that we would overcome the shortcomings and it would be possible for us to come back to the path of higher growth trajectory," he added.

Meanwhile, Corporate Affairs Minister Dr. M. Veerappa Moily highlighted the need for the Companies Bill-legislation aimed at increasing transparency and accountability among firms and business houses.

Moily stressed that the ambitious bill could have been passed in the recently concluded winter session of the parliament had the Opposition parties refrained from adopting their 'obstructionist stance."

"We need to ensure that while the companies or the corporate bodies perform, they should also conform to the regulations. That is why; we have now come out with a very comprehensive bill, the Companies Bill," said Moily.

"We wanted to see that the Bill was passed in the present session, winter session, but you know nothing could move because of the obstructionist policy of the Opposition," he added.