Follow us on: |
Latest
“The agenda (is) obvious. At the top of the list is fiscal consolidation. There can be no compromise — and I speak for the government — there will be no compromise on the decision to walk on the path of fiscal prudence and contain the fiscal deficit step by step, year by year, until we reach the goal of 3 per cent of GDP in 2016-17,” he said.
The government has set a fiscal deficit target of 4.8 per cent of GDP for the current financial year.
Chidambaram has asserted several times that the red line of 4.8 per cent of GDP for the fiscal deficit will not be breached.
The Finance Minister said India would also need to focus on the revenue deficit to ensure that borrowings were not used for consumption.
India’s current account deficit (CAD) touched a record $88 billion in 2012-13,
Chidambaram also said the country should avoid importing gold and raw material that are available at home.
“Nor should India import coal when it has coal in abundance, nor should India tie itself in policy knots and be forced to import commodities which they have the capacity to produce and manufacture,” the Minister said.
Meanwhile, Asian shares fell for the second consecutive day on Thursday as as investors speculate the US budget deal will give the US Federal Reserve confidence to curb the $85 billion stimulus program.
Source: Agencies
© 2017 BRICS Media Limited. All rights reserved. Registered in England and Wales. No.8133697. Registered office: Devonshire House 60 Goswell Road London, EC1M 7AD
57 founding members, many of them prominent US allies, will sign into creation the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank on Monday, the first major global financial instrument independent from the Bretton Woods system.
Representatives of the countries will meet in Beijing on Monday to sign an agreement of the bank, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. All the five BRICS countries are also joining the new infrastructure investment bank.
The agreement on the $100 billion AIIB will then have to be ratified by the parliaments of the founding members, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a daily press briefing in Beijing.
The AIIB is also the first major multilateral development bank in a generation that provides an avenue for China to strengthen its presence in the world’s fastest-growing region.
The US and Japan have not applied for the membership in the AIIB.