NEW DELHI, Oct 4:
Finance Minister P Chidambaram says the country is on the path of financial reform, promising more reforms in the insurance and oher sectors.
In an interview to BBC, Mr Chidamaram said more reforms will take place once after it opened up its retail sector to foreign supermarket chains and cut diesel subsidies.
Sounding upbeat about India’s prospects, the Finance Minister said the country would “return to 9 per cent high growth” once certain “fundamental constraints are addressed”
The Finance Minister said it was wrong to single out India for corruption, but added that enough was being done to tackle the problem.
The government is facing criticism of the reforms it announced last month to try to boost the slowing economy.
Opponents said India was opening up India’s massive retail sector to competition from foreign supermarkets, a move lilkely to hurt the poor.
Recently the government also announced a 14 per cent the price of diesel, which is heavily subsidised in India, and reduced the subsidy on cooking gas cylinders.
Mr Chidambaram said it was unfair to single out India but said the government was “putting in place systems and procedures to deny people the opportunity to be corrupt”.
“We are taking away the discretion of ministers,” he said.
It was fnancial crisis in 1991 that opened the way for then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh to introduce the reforms widely credited with opening up India’s economy.
India’s budget deficit rising, critics say it is the threat of another crisis that has encouraged the government to bring in the current changes.
Mr Chidambaram admitted that India was facing some problems relating to budget deficit, but said India was doing better than other countries. (UNI)
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