‘Arun Jaitley in good health, recovering rapidly’: Piyush Goyal

Goyal was on Wednesday given charge of the finance and corporate affairs ministry during the period of Jaitley’s indisposition.

Union minister Arun Jaitley, who is in the US for medical treatment, is in good health and is recovering rapidly, Piyush Goyal, who has taken temporary charge of the finance ministry, said on Friday.

18 January, 2017, New Delhi : Finance Minister Arun Jaitley during a press conference regarding Cabinet's decision on listing PSU insurers, at PIB, in New Delhi. Photo By Pradeep Gaur/ Mint (Pradeep Gaur/ Mint)

Goyal said he spoke to Jaitley on Thursday night and again on Friday morning. “He is in good health, recovering very rapidly,” he said at an event, commending Jaitley’s stewardship of the ministry over the last five years.

“We have seen some historic things happening in his leadership, including the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), reforming the tax structure, collectively helping us achieve such transformational results including the 66 point jump in the Ease of Doing Business rankings, securing our borders yet making them seamless for trade and making India one of the brightest spots in the world economy.”

Goyal was on Wednesday given charge of the finance and corporate affairs ministry during the period of Jaitley’s indisposition. Jaitley, 66, had a kidney transplant in May 2018 and then too Goyal was put in charge of the ministries. Appealing to the business community to pay taxes and do business ethically, Goyal said that the era of high taxes and misuse of public money is over, and now every rupee received as tax is being put to good use in the interest of the nation.

Goyal said the government had in the last few years made an honest attempt to make the administration more taxpayer friendly, continuously bringing down tax rates and making compliance easier and technology-driven.