Government committed to fiscal consolidation: Minister

The union government was committed towards fiscal consolidation, Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha said here Saturday.

"We are very confident of our fiscal consolidation targets and our fiscal consolidation roadmap. It's not the number (of fiscal deficit), but it is the quality of the numbers that is important. And that's really what we are working towards," he told reporters on the sidelines of the two-day banking retreat.

Data released recently by the Controller General of Accounts showed that India's fiscal deficit touched 98.9 percent of the budget estimates for 2014-15 by the end of November, crossing Rs.5.25 lakh crore ($83.08 billion).

The deficit was 93.9 percent during the corresponding period in 2013-14.

"The number can always be achieved and it was achieved in the past through various mechanisms and measures that I don't think anyone of us was comfortable with," the minister added.

Asked whether this means the government will not go for expenditure cuts, Sinha said: "We will have to see. We'll do it the right way. We'll ensure that there are no headwinds to growth which we're trying to achieve."

Talking about growth rate in the country, Sinha said the government was making efforts to raise the growth rate to 7-8 percent.

"Along with sound economic management, we have to ensure that the economy gets the stimulus that it needs to get to much higher growth trajectory of 7-8 percent and that is both sustainable in terms of environment and other inputs, as well as non-inflationary," he said.