NEW DELHI / WASHINGTON: Secretary of the Treasury Nirmala Sitharaman said that next Budget will be carefully structured to address the parallel challenges of high inflation and growth slows, while looking optimistic about Indian Economy around 7% in the current financial year.
“The specifics (of the Next Budget) can be tricky at this stage because it’s a bit early. But overall, growth priorities will be kept absolutely top of mind. Even as I talk about those the concerns that inflation brings in the short term. So inflation concerns will have to be addressed. But then how will you manage growth will be a natural question,” Sitharaman said in Washington, where she is scheduled to attend the annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). The budget is expected to be presented on February 1, and initial discussions on spending by various government agencies began earlier this week.
Her comments came hours before inflation and factory output data were released and hours after the IMF downgraded India’s growth forecast for the current financial year to 6.8%, still would rank the country among the fastest growing major economies. While acknowledging that India is not immune to global economic developments, the minister said she is “confident in India’s relative and absolute growth performance for the remainder of the decade”.
In the context of increasing inflationary pressure, Sitharaman sees high energy prices as one of the biggest problems facing the Indian economy in the coming time. However, she suggested that the government would seek to protect the poor and vulnerable and suggested that the Center’s decision to reduce the excise tax on gasoline and diesel should be considered in that context. “Last year, we had to pay more for fertilizer imports due to rising international prices. But the Modi government took the full burden of the price increase and farmers paid what they paid in 2018,” she said. -2019″.
Yellen will visit next month
Finance Secretary Janet Yellen will travel to India next month to attend the ninth edition of the US-India Economic and Financial Partnership meeting, as she persuades the strong relationship between the two nations to be resolved. the world’s most important economic challenges. Yellen’s announcement came as she met her Indian counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman here.
“The specifics (of the Next Budget) can be tricky at this stage because it’s a bit early. But overall, growth priorities will be kept absolutely top of mind. Even as I talk about those the concerns that inflation brings in the short term. So inflation concerns will have to be addressed. But then how will you manage growth will be a natural question,” Sitharaman said in Washington, where she is scheduled to attend the annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). The budget is expected to be presented on February 1, and initial discussions on spending by various government agencies began earlier this week.
Her comments came hours before inflation and factory output data were released and hours after the IMF downgraded India’s growth forecast for the current financial year to 6.8%, still would rank the country among the fastest growing major economies. While acknowledging that India is not immune to global economic developments, the minister said she is “confident in India’s relative and absolute growth performance for the remainder of the decade”.
In the context of increasing inflationary pressure, Sitharaman sees high energy prices as one of the biggest problems facing the Indian economy in the coming time. However, she suggested that the government would seek to protect the poor and vulnerable and suggested that the Center’s decision to reduce the excise tax on gasoline and diesel should be considered in that context. “Last year, we had to pay more for fertilizer imports due to rising international prices. But the Modi government took the full burden of the price increase and farmers paid what they paid in 2018,” she said. -2019″.
Yellen will visit next month
Finance Secretary Janet Yellen will travel to India next month to attend the ninth edition of the US-India Economic and Financial Partnership meeting, as she persuades the strong relationship between the two nations to be resolved. the world’s most important economic challenges. Yellen’s announcement came as she met her Indian counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman here.
