By IANS,
New Delhi : India should have more fiscal stimulus measures to help the economy weather the global slowdown, Planning Commission Deputy Chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia said here Tuesday.
“We should have more fiscal stimulus measures. In the recent G-20 summit in London, the world leaders generally felt that fiscal stimulus was needed in 2009-10,” Ahluwalia said after releasing a book, titled “India and the Global Crisis”, written by Shankar Acharya.
Acharya was the former chief economic adviser to the central government and is now an honorary professor and board member at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (Icrier).
Saying the government would keep a close vigil on the financial scene, Ahluwalia said: “India will not have bounced payments in 2009-10 and there’s no question of inflation shooting up again.”
Speaking of the infrastructure sector, he said the next government would take the necessary steps to help the segment, but expressed expressed concern over the declining private investment.
“The first half of 2009-10 will see shrinkage of demand and private investment too will go down,” Ahluwalia said.
Acharya, while speaking at the ceremony, said the financial crisis had decelerated India’s growth rate.
“There will be a limited room for the use of monetary policy this fiscal and India is likely to grow at 4-6 percent,” he said.