India to break double-digit growth barrier soon: FM

New Delhi, Feb 27 (PTI) India's Finance Minister Pranab
Mukherjee Saturday exuded confidence the economy would soon
break the double-digit growth barrier and said the stimulus
measures will not be fully withdrawn until a robust recovery
is achieved.

Mukherjee, however, remained concerned over high food
inflation and the ambiguous nature of recovery in exports due
to the uncertainty prevailing in the developed economies.
"...I feel the fundamentals of the economy are strong.
The positives from our recent performance outweigh the
negatives, so that one can hope to see the economy breaking
the double-digit growth barrier in the very near future, which
is essential for reducing poverty in the country," Mukherjee
said in his address to the 82nd AGM of Federation of Indian
Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
The Finance Minister has partially rolled back stimulus
sops in the Budget by hiking excise duties by two percentage
points across the board, and enhancing tax rates on petroleum
products.
On a roll-back of the emergency measures to prop up the
economy, the Minister said, "I am committed to fiscal
consolidation in the interest of the economy's capacity to
sustain growth in the medium to long term.
"But it can be fully effected when the recovery in
private demand -- both consumption and investment -- is
sufficiently robust," Mukherjee said. MORE PTI TEAM
MRD


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