Mukherjee says Govt. to strive hard to bring down fiscal deficit

July 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Wednesday told the Rajya Sabha that the result of the stimulus measures have started showing results with recovery in many sectors. "The stimulus measures have started yielding results and I must say it is visible but it is slow, the minister said in his reply during the debate on the national budget in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the parliament.

July 14th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government is determined to bring the fiscal deficit under control, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said here Tuesday. Addressing economists at a seminar organised by the India Policy Forum, he said the fiscal stimulus provided by the government had put a burden on the deficit but the package was necessary in the given economic scenario.

July 14th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Tuesday said high borrowings of the government and large fiscal deficit were inevitable in the national budget given the need to push economic growth and allocate more funds for welfare programmes. "I had to take this risk.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said that the fiscal deficit as a percentage of GDP is projected at 6.8 per cent as compared to 2.5 per cent of the Budget Estimates (BE) for 2008-09 and 6.2 per cent as per the provisional accounts of 2008-09. Presenting the General Budget for 2009-10 in Lok Sabha on Monday, Mukherjee assured that government would address the issue properly to come back to the path of fiscal consolidation, as this level of deficit was a matter of concern.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said that the Government has taken several measures to counter the negative fall-out of the global slow down on the Indian economy. Presenting the budget for 2009-10, Mukherjee said: Firstly, the Government responded by providing three focused fiscal stimulus packages in the form of tax relief to boost demand and increased expenditure on public projects to create employment and public assets.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Monday said recovery of Indian economy in the current fiscal would be difficult unless there were visible improvements in the global economic scenario. Speaking to a television channel after presenting the union budget for 2009-10, Mukherjee said the economy would likely recover in the third quarter of 2009-10, but if the western economies did not improve, we will take a longer period.

June 28th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government can raise about Rs.80,000 crore ($16.6 billion) by divesting stake in public sector units, says an industry lobby report. "Dilution of stake in leading public sector units alone could fetch at least Rs.80,000 crore," the report by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) said, adding that this amount could be used to bring down the fiscal deficit burden.

June 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government must aim for growth with fiscal prudence, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said here Thursday, even as he pushed for a pan-India goods and services tax from April next year. High levels of fiscal deficit are not sustainable in the medium to long term, both for the states and the centre, the finance minister told a pre-budget conference with finance ministers of states and union territories.

June 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today appealed to find ways to bring the economy on the higher growth path without increasing fiscal deficit. Addressing a conference of state finance ministers as part of a pre-budget here, Mukherjee said the Central Government would focus on infrastructure, agriculture and employment generating sectors to promote growth and protect jobs.

May 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Accepting that the two financial stimulus packages and a relaxed monetary policy have put pressures on India's fiscal deficit, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Tuesday hinted the fiscal deficit ceiling could be raised, saying it neded a "fresh look". In an interview to a television channel, Mukherjee said monetary measures such as cuts in lending rates have been taken to ensure increased liquidity in the system, but admitted the move had led to the fiscal deficit swelling.

February 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - India’s consolidated fiscal deficit may increase to 10.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this fiscal and 10 percent the next year, according to an estimate by global investment bank Goldman Sachs. 'We do not think that the deficit will come down substantially over the next few years,' Tushar Poddar, economist with Goldman Sachs, said in a statement.

February 19th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India’s consolidated fiscal deficit may increase to 10.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this fiscal and 10 percent the next year, according to an estimate by global investment bank Goldman Sachs. 'We do not think that the deficit will come down substantially over the next few years,' Tushar Poddar, economist with Goldman Sachs, said in a statement.

February 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee began presenting the interim budget for the next fiscal amid expectations that measures will be announced to cushion the impact of global meltdown on the Indian economy, and help revive consumer demand. The exercise began with Mukherjee reading out his budget speech in the Lok Sabha, during which he will also seek an approval to finance the government's expenditure, till such time the regular budget is presented by a new government after elections, and passed by parliament.

February 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government Monday said high fiscal deficit was inevitable given the global economic scenario and increasing public expenditure. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee in his interim budget speech pegged the current fiscal's deficit at 6 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), but hoped that it would come down to 5.5 percent in next financial year.

February 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Despite the global economic slowdown, India is the second fastest growing economy in the world and has recorded a sustained growth of over 9 percent for three consecutive years for the first time, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Monday. Presenting the interim budget in the Lok Sabha, Mukherjee said the gross domestic product (GDP) has increased by 7.5 percent, 9.5 percent, 9.7 percent and 9 percent, respectively, in the four fiscal years between 2004-05 and 2007-08.