No Need To Punt On Borrowings: Reddy

There is no reason to speculate that the government borrowing programme will exceed the budgeted target, said YV Reddy, deputy governor, Reserve Bank of India. Reddy said the fiscal stance taken by the central government involves accelerating expenditure in selected areas as well as aiming better tax collection. "Hence it is not proper at this point to think that there will be slippage in the government borrowing programme just because of fiscal pump-priming," Reddy said.

Reddy was speaking to the press in the sideline of a lecture session organised by Indian Merchants Chamber in Mumbai.

The central government has already completed around 54 per cent of the gross government borrowing programme within the first four months of the financial year. This gives out the possibility that the government will exceed its budgeted gross borrowing programme of Rs 1,19,770 crore in a big way.

The deputy governor of the central bank declined to revise the projection of growth rate and the inflation rate. On the possibility of a turnaround in the industrial sector Reddy said, "we are hopeful of the turnaround, but it depends a lot on the good monsoon."