US Treasury Secretary: India to become $5 Tn economy ahead of schedule

In a major boost to India, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, on Friday, has stated that 'India can achieve its $ 5 Trillion economy target, faster than the given time', while holding talks with Indian leaders in New Delhi, as per sources. Mnuchin is reportedly on a tour to gain support from India and other countries against Iran's nuclear program. Reports state that Mnuchin is accompanied by US President Donald Trump's senior advisor and son-in-law, Jared Kushner on the regional tour from Oct. 25 visiting Saudi Arabia, Israel, United Arab Emirates, India and Qatar.

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Mnuchin in India

Reports state that Mnuchin had met with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Delhi on Friday. The US delegation reportedly also consisted of US Undersecretary for international affairs Brent McIntosh and US Assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes Marshall Billingslea. The details of the meeting are unknown as of yet. Mnuchin is also scheduled to meet Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das on Saturday to allegedly discuss to cut Iranian banks' ties to the financial sector, as per reports.

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India and Iran's oil imports

Previously in May, India stopped importing oil from Iran after the US imposed fresh sanctions on Iran. Iran is currently reportedly more crude oil from Mexico, US, and Saudi Arabia, since then. Fresh sanctions were imposed on Iran after US President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

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What is the '$ 5 trillion economy' dream?

The $ 5 trillion economy dream of the BJP government was first revealed in the BJP manifesto released on April 8.  The manifesto paved a plan for India to become a 5 trillion dollar economy, jumping ranks from being the 6th largest economy in the world to the 3rd. The areas of focus mentioned in the manifesto were Tax Policy and GST, Yoga, Infrastructure, Make in India, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Entrepreneurship, Tourism, and International trade. To achieve this aim, the Economic Survey and the Union Budget predicted that a GDP growth rate of 8% must be maintained with a focus on savings, investment supported by the private industry as a 'key demographic" in creating jobs. The $ 5 Trillion aim has been promoted by PM Modi in many of his public addresses, latest - in his UNGA address. 

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