Bibek Debroy: 'Not tinkering with slabs, expect big cuts in tax rates'

New Delhi: While for GST, there is a council that determines the rates, on the direct tax fronts, there is a task force to advise the Union government, which has pushed for big tax cuts in the Budget that will be presented by interim finance minister Piyush Goyal on February 1, said Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister and permanent member of the NITI Aayog Bibek Debroy took a wide variety of questions in people's minds while answering them comprehensively in this exclusive interview with MyNation.

This government does not believe that it ought to function on a single day of the year and go to sleep for the remaining 364 or 365 days of the year, Debroy said, adding that people should, hence, not expect big announcements only on the day of the finance minister's Budget speech. Reforms are a continuous process for the Modi government, he said. Also, a lot depends on the states to which powers have been delegated by this Union government, he added.

Debroy explained how the job scenario is being misinterpreted, dealing with the geography, nature of businesses and employment and quality of candidates.

The economist and author put in perspective Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promise of 'minimum government, maximum governance' which includes ensuring minimal government presence in citizens' personal lives. He said there were parts of the country that had seen no sign of government before the Modi dispensation stepped in.

There are several projects that work in progress, Debroy said, for instance, how to address the concern of the 'angel tax' for start-ups and compensation for farmers. There has been substantial progress in various sectors of the economy, he said.