Poor will continue to bear impact of crisis: Mukherjee

September 19th, 2009 BANGALORE - Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Saturday admitted that the government had a problem on the food price front due to a dichotomy in the wholesale price index (WPI) and the consumer price index (CPI). "On the food price front, we have a problem.

September 19th, 2009 BANGALORE - The stimulus package, introduced in the last fiscal to protect the Indian economy from the impact of the global financial crisis, would continue till the economies of Europe and US recover, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said here Saturday. "At the recently held G-20 countries' finance ministers' meet in London, we came to the conclusion that we should not reverse the stimulant package, which we have injected in the aftermath of international financial crisis, till the full recovery in Europe and North America is distinctly visible," Mukherjee told reporters at a news conference.

September 1st, 2009 LONDON - Malay Mukherjee, a leading expert in steelmaking, has stepped down from the board of directors of ArcelorMittal, the company announced Tuesday. Mukherjee, a former executive at the public sector Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), quit to pursue other interests, the company said.

August 18th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government Tuesday ruled out any fresh debt waver scheme even though farmers have been severly hit by poor monsoon this year. "There is no such proposal," Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said when asked whether the government would write off farmers' loans.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The allocation for the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission has been increased by 87 percent to Rs.12,887 crore, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said while presenting the union budget in parliament Monday. Additionally, the Indira Awas Yojna, a housing programme for the poor, has been allocated Rs.2,000 crore, while a Rs.2,000-crore special fund has been set up to finance rural housing projects.

April 26th, 2009 World Bank: Nations should speed aid to poorWASHINGTON — The World Bank on Sunday urged donor nations to speed up delivery of the money they've already pledged — and to give even more — to help poor countries weather the steep global recession. The bank said developing countries face especially serious consequences as the financial and economic crisis turns into what it described as a "human and development calamity." In a communique, the World Bank's policy steering committee said the crisis has already driven more than 50 million people into extreme poverty, particularly women and children.

April 23rd, 2009 Barroso: EU must help poor despite recessionBRUSSELS — The European Commission's president says the EU must continue to be the world's primary donor of aid to poor nations despite the global recession. Jose Manuel Barroso says poor countries "are the least responsible for this crisis but among the worst affected." He says the recession "must not, cannot and will not be used as an excuse" for cutting EU aid to developing nations.

March 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India Tuesday warned against the dangers of protectionism and asked developed countries not to stop the flow of funds to developing countries due to the global economic downturn. 'Developed countries should not resort to protectionism to resolve the crisis,' External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is also acting finance minister, told reporters here when asked about the impact of global financial meltdown on developing countries.

February 23rd, 2009 KOLKATA - External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee Sunday stressed the need for stimulating domestic demand and supply to overcome the economic slowdown, and said the government would step up investment in infrastructure and rural development. Mukherjee, who is also holding the finance portfolio, said the government favoured a unanimous approach in tackling the recessionary impact.

February 18th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government is open to a fresh economic package if it was required to cope with the global financial crisis, acting finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said Thursday, but cautioned against pressing the panic button as the full impact of the meltdown on India was yet to be gauged. 'After consulting the RBI (Reserve Bank of India), I am not making any commitment, if the situation requires, we may be in a position to do more,' Mukherjee said during question hour in the Rajya Sabha.

February 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Reacting to criticisms over lack of measures in the interim budget presented Monday, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said in an election year, an incumbent government had the mandate only to present a vote on account. 'I think this is a failure to understand the limitations of an interim budget,' Ahluwalia said, soon after industry and average citizens complained that the interim budget tabled in parliament by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had no specific measures on tax rates or to help cushion the impact of global slowdown.

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 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Indian economy will grow by 7 percent this fiscal even as recent projections by global agencies like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) say that advanced countries' economies would shrink by 2 percent, Minister for External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee said here Thursday. 'I am proud to say that in 2008-09 India will still grow by 7 percent,' said Mukherjee while addressing the 81st annual general meeting of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

January 16th, 2009 KOLKATA - The Rs.70 billion (Rs.7,000-crore/$1.43 billion) Satyam Computer Services scam is an 'isolated' case in the corporate sector of India, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said here Saturday. 'The Satyam scam has undoubtedly impacted our securities market.

January 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The global economic turmoil poses a grave threat to developing nations even though their contribution to the cause of the crisis is negligible, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said here Tuesday. 'Given the magnitude of the global financial and economic crisis today, the developing countries may become its worst victims even though they were not the cause of the crisis,' Mukherjee said while delivering his address at the general session of the Afro-Asian Rural Development Organisation (AARDO).