Need to step up public expenditure: Montek

Describing the 7.1 per cent growth projection for the current fiscal in the current situation as better than expected, the Plan panel today underlined the need for stepping up public expenditure to stimulate the economy.

Describing the 7.1 per cent growth projection for the current fiscal in the current situation as better than expected, the Plan panel on Tuesday underlined the need for stepping up public expenditure to stimulate the economy.

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"I don't want to speculate on final numbers. It (the CSO estimate of GDP) is better than expected," Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia told the media on the sidelines of a function to launch "India's Strategic Interests in Southeast Asia and Singapore", a book by former Singapore Ambassador in India See Chak Mun.

The Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) on Monday projected an economic growth rate of 7.1 per cent for the current fiscal, down from 9 per cent in the previous year. The CSO's advance GDP estimate for the current fiscal is the same as projected by the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council and slightly better than the 7 per cent forecast of the Reserve Bank.

Ahluwalia said the best way to boost the economy is to expand public expenditure and public and private investment through the PPP (Public-Private Partnership) mode.