No Withdrawal Of Stimulus Now: India’s Finance Minister
(RTTNews) - India’s Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, while addressing Economic Editors’ Conference on Tuesday at New Delhi, said the stimulus measures would not be withdrawn until the government is convinced that the economy has recovered from the slowdown, reported the media.
The Minister said that though the government could raise additional resources through disinvestment to consolidate finances, the major concern was the increasing fiscal deficit. The fiscal deficit shot up to 6.8% of the GDP due to stimulus measures. He added that liquidity is adequate and inflation has not yet become an area of concern.
Mukherjee said that challenge that the government was facing previously was to put the economy back to high GDP growth and even beyond as soon as possible. This would ensure sustained growth in the next few decades. He said that the other challenges of the government were to improve governance and deepen inclusive growth and development.
The Minister admitted that the abnormal monsoon could impact the GDP growth rate but added that the country could fare better than the initial estimates. He expressed concern on the low off-take of credit and added that banks have been asked to take advantage of the upcoming busy season and enhance credit flow to needy sectors. He added that all efforts have been taken to ensure the credit off-take to employment generating sectors like agriculture and micro and small enterprises.
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