No Collapse Of Rupee, No New Levy On Items Consumed By Poor: Sitharaman In Rajya Sabha

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while replying to a debate on price rise in the Rajya Sabha, said there was no collapse in the value of the Indian rupee.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament

Source : PTI

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while replying to a debate on price rise in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, said the GST Council had not imposed any new levy on essential items consumed by the poor. She also addressed concerns of the Opposition on price rise amid protests over GST on several pre-packed and labelled essential items.

Sitharaman also said there was no collapse in the value of the Indian rupee and, in fact, its performance against the US dollar was better than other major global currencies. "The performance of the Indian rupee is much better than its own peers, which withstood the impact of the US Fed's decision much better than any other peer currencies," she said.

The discussion saw participation from Raghav Chadha of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Mahua Maji of the JMM, Rajani Ashokrao Patil of the Congress, Tiruchi Siva of the DMK and other Opoosition leaders. However, TMC staged a walkout of the Rajya Sabha when party leader Derek O'Brien tried to raise a point of order.

Price Rise Debate In Rajya Sabha: Key Points

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that taxes have not been levied on food items consumed by the poor, as GST has not been imposed on items that are sold loose.
• Sitharaman said such products were taxed in one form or the other by almost all states in the pre-GST era. She said the Centre had contained prices of tomato, onion, and potato, while comparing with rates prevailing in November 2013.
• Sitharaman also clarified there was no GST on crematoriums, but the tax was only on the construction of a new crematorium.
• She also said there was no GST on hospital beds or ICUs, but only on rent of Rs 5,000 per day in a hospital.
• Clearing the air, the Finnace Minister said there was no GST on withdrawal of cash from banks. "5+5=10 transactions in a month is totally free when withdrawn from ATMs," she said.
• Sitharaman said almost every state, including West Bengal, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Kerala, had imposed levies on items like pulses, flour, curd, paneer, and buttermilk before the GST regime kicked in on July 1, 2017. "...every state had one or the other tax on all these items," she said and cited taxes on items like pulses, flour, buttermilk, and paneer.
• The minister said all states at the last GST Council meeting had agreed to the proposal to levy 5 per cent GST on pre-packed, labelled food items. "Not one person (state minister) spoke against the GST during the meeting," she said.
• Participating in the discussion, AAP MP Raghav Chadha said rural inflation was higher than urban inflation and this was happening in this country for the first time. "The living cost in villages has gone up despite the fact that the country's maximum number of people reside in rural areas," he said.
• Mahua Maji of the JMM said poverty and inflation were creating havoc in the tribal areas. Rajani Ashokrao Patil of the Congress said women were the most affected by price rise, claiming that even LPG cylinders distributed under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana were not being used.
• Tiruchi Siva of the DMK said the government has to take action to bring back the value of the rupee value to the level required. "You are benefiting the corporates, finishing the poor people, this is not the right gesture of the government," he said.

(With inputs from PTI)