Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said he gave broad indications to the next Government on stepping up planned outlay in the full Budget to beat the economic downturn, signifying that his Budget speech was more of a pointer to the future.
In an interview, Mukherjee said the country should strive for nine per cent economic growth, even though it is down two percentage points due to slowdown.
He also mentioned constitutional constraints, which did not allow the Government to take full corrective measures in the interim Budget to give a boost to the economy.
"First there was constraint on taking corrective measures. The mandate of the government is coming to an end by May 22-23 ... Elections are due ... I can neither indulge in reckless borrowing nor go on imposing taxes without the mandate of Parliament. It will be a wrong thing to do," the Finance Minister said.
Therefore, he signalled in the budget the areas that need to be taken up by the next government, he added.
"In my budget speech, I have identified areas which should be taken into account when the full budget will be placed. You may have to step up the plan outlay. I kept the plan size almost at the level of last year," Mukherjee said.
{{/usCountry}}"In my budget speech, I have identified areas which should be taken into account when the full budget will be placed. You may have to step up the plan outlay. I kept the plan size almost at the level of last year," Mukherjee said.
{{/usCountry}}Stay updated with all top Cities including, Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai and more across India. Stay informed on the latest happenings in World News along with Delhi Election 2025 and Delhi Election Result 2025 Live, New Delhi Election Result Live, Kalkaji Election Result Live at Hindustan Times.
Stay updated with all top Cities including, Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai and more across India. Stay informed on the latest happenings in World News along with Delhi Election 2025 and Delhi Election Result 2025 Live, New Delhi Election Result Live, Kalkaji Election Result Live at Hindustan Times.