CHENNAI: The double digit growth of the economy is primarily due to the success of the economic reforms, in which Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram has played a key role, speakers at a function to celebrate his 63rd birthday said on Sunday.
Hailing the Finance Minister as a visionary, State Planning Commission vice-chairman M. Naganathan said he was a successful lawyer, social reformer, able parliamentarian and one of the prime movers of the UPA government’s Common Minimum Programme.
The function was organised by the National Friends Forum, an association owing allegiance to the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee.
Mr. Chidambaram had so far presented six budgets, and all of them gave priority to improvement of agriculture, education and heathcare, infrastructure development and strengthening of the cooperative movement. By being instrumental in the levying of the minimum alternative tax and the fringe benefits tax, he had shown that equity in taxation can be achieved, he said.
Despite the reforms, the country still had a long way to go: it had to combat malnutrition, hunger and poverty, and the Finance Minister should take more proactive measures, he said.
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