Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, in an interview to CNBC TV18, said that although maintaining fiscal and growth prudence were both priorities for the government, in current times, growth had to assume higher significance. He was speaking exclusively to CNBC-TV18’s Udayan Mukherjee after taking over as Finance Minister.

Mukherjee said that the government would be able to pass the Budget by the end of July. “We have identified issues and areas of concern that need to be addressed in this Budget and will work closely with Dr Manmohan Singh in presenting the first Budget,” he said.

According to him, certain sectors that had been adversely affected by the global crisis needed special attention. “Problems in the textile sector need to be addressed,” he added.

The government, he said, needed to inject money to push growth. “Massive investment in infrastructure is needed to spur growth. We need to review resources, delivery systems to the core sector.”

Although, maintaining growth and fiscal prudence were both priorities, Mukherjee stated that growth at such times had to assume higher importance over fiscal concerns. “The goal is to bring the economy back on the growth path.” However, he was quick to add that the government could not indulge in fiscal profligacy.

Mukherjee hoped that FY09 GDP growth would be closer to 7%. He sees growth picking up from October.

source: Moneycontrol

Tags: budget, budget 1st week july, pranab mukherjee interview

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