Ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's first bi-monthly monetary policy for 2016-17, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday expressed the hope that interest rates will further come down and help make the economy more competitive.
"Interest rates have been on a downward trajectory in the past one year. The fiscal deficit target has been maintained and inflation is moderate," he said at a CII event.
Talking about the proposed tax on provident fund that he later withdrew, the Minister said high interest rates will make the economy sluggish. "In the long term, interest and deposit rates have to come down," he said while noting that there is a need for more debate on the issue.
Jaitley also said industry leaders must be credible and ethical while dealing with issues such as bad loans.