Pranab gets ready for budget

The Government has set the ball rolling for a full budget presentation with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee (73) scheduled to meet industry captains on Monday to hammer out the contours of turnaround strategy.

The government has set the ball rolling for a full budget presentation with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee (73) scheduled to meet industry captains on Monday to hammer out the contours of turnaround strategy.

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India Inc, caught between an uncertain domestic market and sticky interest rates, is likely to pitch for immediate fiscal measures in the budget.

Official sources said the Finance Minister would hold a brainstorming session with representatives from apex industry chambers — Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry Assocham)—and top ministry officials to take stock of the current economic situation.

The interim budget passed earlier enabled the government to run its expenditure till July 31 only. Mukherjee plans to present a full budget by the first week of July.

“Clearly, the government needs to take definite action on major fronts including investment-led growth strategy through higher public investments and stimulate demand through fiscal measures to bring consumers back into the market,” Ficci president Harsh Pati Singhania said.

CII President Venu Srinivasan said interest rates in India were high compared to many other economies and called for key policy rates to be cut by at least 0.5 percentage points.