External audit for projects soon: FM

Asserting that the Union Budget has "not strayed" from the reforms path, finance minister P Chidambaram has indicated external audit for monitoring the progress of major programmes outlined for the next fiscal.

"We have not strayed from the path of reforms. We will try to get some external audit to measure the outcome of major programmes," Chidambaram said in a wide-ranging interview to BBC World.

"I am very clear that the financial outlays have to be converted into physical outcomes, and we will measure this only by the fiscal outcomes," the minister said.

Stressing that he has made a specific mention about this in the budget speech, Chidambaram said between the Planning Commission and the ministry of finance, "we will put in place a mechanism that will measure the development outcomes of major programmes. This will happen in the next few weeks."