MUMBAI: The Nationalist Congress Party said on Friday that the measures announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to prop up the slowing economy came too late.
Commenting on Sitharaman's announcements, NCP spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said there was no "roadmap of growth".
"The announcements have come very late and at a time when the economy is facing uncertainty and there is no roadmap of growth," he said.
Monetary circulation is at its lowest and investor confidence has "crashed", he claimed. Manufacturing, retail and service sectors are badly hit, and lakhs of people have lost jobs, Tapase said.
"The government missed the economic markers (of slow- down) and miserably failed to intervene in time," he added.
Seeking to dispel doubts over the economy and government's growth agenda, Sitharaman on Friday said India's GDP continues to grow at a faster pace than the global peers.
However, she announced rollback of enhanced surcharge on foreign portfolio investors and proposed to establish an organisation to provide credit enhancement for infrastructure and housing projects.
For the auto sector, the finance minister announced a slew of measures including lifting ban on purchase of vehicles by government departments and allowing additional 15 per cent depreciation on vehicles acquired from now till March 2020.
In a major relief to MSME sector, the government announced that pending GST refunds will be paid within 30 days.