Govt. may reduce subsidies to oil & fertiliser to contain fiscal deficit: Finance Minister
merisarkar news service
New Delhi, November 04, 2009
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that Indian economy is on the path of distinct recovery but some worrisome areas still remain.
Inaugurating the economic editor’s conference in New Delhi on Tuesday he said government is looking at steps to cut subsidy on fertilizer and oil sale with an aim to cutting non-Plan expenditure and contain fiscal deficit.
He said that the fiscal deficit would be rolled back to 5.5 per cent in the next financial year from 6.8 per cent in 2009-10.
Mr. Mukherjee expressed government's keen desire for achieving higher growth rate and called for improvement in governance.
He said that the dismal performance of agriculture sector due to scant monsoon has added to the worries of the government apart from the low demand of the exports in the developed countries.
