Will contain spend to tame inflation: FM

Targeting the Centre?s fiscal deficit to be reined in at 5.3 per cent of gross domestic product, Finance Minister

P Chidambaram today exuded confidence that expenditure would be contained for the current financial year.

In a reply in the Rajya Sabha, Chidambaram detailed various measures announced by the government earlier, including a 10 per cent mandatory cut on non-plan expenditure for the current financial year.

Attributing the economic slowdown to various factors, including the tight Reserve Bank of India monetary policy, he also said the government had been taking steps to promote investment and growth. “Among domestic factors, the tightening of the monetary policy in order to control inflation resulted in the slowing down of investment and growth, particularly in the industrial sector,” Chidambaram said.

The reduction in the growth was attributable to both domestic and global factors, he added.

Measures undertaken to revive the economy included better access to finance for the manufacturing sector, fast-tracking of large investment projects, use of buffer stocks to moderate food inflation and reducing volatility in exchange rate, the minister said.