Press Trust of India / New Delhi Oct 21, 2009, 14:44 IST
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said it is premature to "exit" the fiscal stimulus as the global economy is not showing robust recovery, but was optimistic about economic growth.
Ahead of the monetary policy review on October 27 by Reserve Bank, he plans to hold consultations with the apex bank and would not like to comment on issues like where interest rates are headed.
"I would like to watch the situation for some more time," he told PTI when asked whether fiscal concessions given to the industry to overcome the global financial crisis that started last year would be withdrawn on inflationary concerns.
He said till now the global economic recovery "is not as robust as we expected it to be". Unless this recovery takes place, the government would not think of an exit policy for the stimulus, he said.
The Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council has projected better growth, an outlook that beats estimates of the government and RBI. It expects the economy to expand by up to 6.75 per cent this fiscal, while pegging inflation at near six per cent by March 2010.
"There has been more or less the broad outline that he (PMEAC Chairman C Rangarajan) has indicated in the economic outlook for 2009 -10. We are also predicting like that," he said.
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