Referring to the decisive manner in which the recent global challenges like rising crude oil prices or the spill over effects of domestic policies of certain countries were handled by Prime Minister Mr NarendraModi- led government, Finance Minister Mr ArunJaitley today said at the ASSOCHAM Annual Meeting that India needs a strong and decisive leadership at the Centre so that the country remains a sweet spot of the world.

“What does India need....India needs a strong and decisive leadership at the Centre. A weak leadership could not have handled the crisis within days, the way present government did...A crisis in the making was handled with swiftness is just one example of the way this government functions”, said the Finance Minister, addressing the 98th Annual meeting of the chamber with a theme: New India: Working for 125 billion aspirationssaid at an ASSOCHAM event held in New Delhi today.

Addressing the ASSOCHAM delegates through a video conference, Mr Jaitley said India needs a government which is absolutely clear about the direction and the policies , it wants to follow. However, he said, ''there are lot of political challenges like unstable coalitions and in terms of aspiring individuals with lack of understanding of policies and directions.

The country's leadership needs to have an absolute clarity so that India remains in the unique position , which IMF repeatedly refers to as a sweet spot in the world,, he said , adding such a strong position would be required for the next few decades so that the country is able to get rid poverty and achieve growth and development.

Referring to the recent bout of rise in crude oil prices and the tariff row amongst certain countries, the Finance Minister said the fuel prices have arisen on account of artificial shortages , but the country needs to face this challenge with resilience and strength.

Mr Jaitley said the Government has embarked upon several second generation reforms like direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme and the Insolvency and Banking Code. He said the government is saving Rs 90,000 crore per annum because of Aadhar -enabled DBT alone, whereas the IBC is helping the banks deal with the problem of debts turning bad and also providing the exit option to the promoters who could not continue under the survival of the fittest environment.

The Finance Minister said the present government has brought in transparency in various fields of governance, including the direct taxation as also the Goods and Services Tax, with the help of technology. India has moved significantly up on the global Ease of Doing Business Index and with the IBC being factored in, the country's position on this index would be further improved.