No withdrawal of stimulus before budget: Pranab

The government on Wednesday said the fiscal stimulus given to the industry to combat the adverse impact of the global financial meltdown will not be withdrawn before the budget to be presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in February.

The government on Wednesday said the fiscal stimulus given to the industry to combat the adverse impact of the global financial meltdown will not be withdrawn before the budget to be presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in February.

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"You have to wait till the Budget," the finance minister said, replying to a question, when the government proposes to withdraw the stimulus packages.

After the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008 which triggered the global financial crisis, the government had provided three stimulus packages to spur growth in a slowing down economy. These were in tandem with the measures taken by the Reserve Bank of India to make available more liquidity to the cash-starved industry.

The fiscal packages were mainly aimed at sacrificing tax revenue and raising public expenditure with a view to generating more demand for industrial goods.

With the economy recording a growth rate of 7.9 per cent in the second quarter (July-October), it is expected that the government may start withdrawing the stimulus, especially to contain rising fiscal deficit targeted to go up to 6.8 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product by the end of the 2009-10 financial year.

Addressing the captains of the industry here, Mukherjee said, "green shoots (of recovery) are now firmly taking roots. The recent data confirms it".