Ahluwalia, who was part of the team under then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh that started reform process in 1991, is presently with the International Monetary Fund, a post which he is expected to relinquish next month.
It's imperative for the govt to reassure investors: Montek Ahluwalia
'I do not believe that you would have a booming economy when you go into elections if you had a budget which did not answer the fiscal deficit concerns.'
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Ahluwalia on Tuesday ruled out any more stimulus package for industry as the Budget has given a substantial boost to the slowing economy.
'Maybe he was wrong, but they believed he genuinely meant what he said.'
Asked whether growth was responsible for rising prices, Ahluwalia replied, "I don't agree that whenever you have (high economic) growth then you have inflation."
Industrialist Anil Ambani on Wednesday met Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, who is reportedly in the reckoning for the post of Finance Minister in the new UPA government.
Anil Ambani has interests in power, telecom and other infrastructure sectors.
International Monetary Fund managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Thursday said he favoured new heads of the World Bank and the Fund to be from countries other than Europe and the United States.
The luncheon at his residence was attended by Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Ahluwalia, Chairman of PM's Economic Advisory Council C Rangarajan, former RBI Governor Bimal Jalan, Foreign Secretary Shiv Shanker Menon and officials of the Prime Minister's Office.
The railways should leverage its revenues to raise money from the market to modernise and expand its facilities, planning commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said in New Delhi on Monday.
Yojana Bhawan is working overtime to complete the crucial Approach paper to the 12th Plan amidst a buzz that Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia may get a Cabinet berth in the reshuffle expected soon.
The RBI's big decision is not how much to ease but whether to monetise the fiscal deficit.
You cannot have a corporate tax and then say spend another two per cent.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Wednesday expressed concerns over rising crude prices which soared to two-year high of $ 102 a barrel in Asian markets.
Current account deficit, which represents flow of money out of the country barring capital movements, stood at $4.5 billion in the first quarter of previous financial year.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has apologised to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the unruly mob behaviour outside his office targeting her and her Cabinet colleagues and said steps need to be taken to avoid such situations in the future.
The meetings with Singh and Ahluwalia have taken place just two days before the announcement of the results of the general elections for the 15th Lok Sabha. Besides Karnik, the other nominees on the Satyam board are HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh, former ICAI chairman T M Manoharan, CII chief mentor Tarun Das, LIC executive S B Mainak and former presiding officer of Securities and Appellate Tribunal C Achuthan.
Ahluwalia also said that markets in India has withstood the pressures of the time very well and has come a long way over the years.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Saturday strongly supported the view that petroleum prices in the country should "align with the global price."
He is, however, hopeful that impact of recent reforms initiatives will manifest in the data for the second half of the fiscal.
To offset the impact of high import costs, the Planning Commission had said that Coal India Ltd should adopt a pooling formula on prices by combining rates of imported and domestic coal.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia today said the country would need to spend eight per cent of its GDP on the sector during the 11th Plan to ensure a 10 per cent economic growth.
Inflation rate fell to 0.27 per cent for the second week of March from 0.44 per cent for the week ended March 7. However, Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said on Thursday the Indian economy is not heading towards deflation despite inflation nearing the zero-level in the past few weeks.
At the annual Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, organised by the government ostensibly to celebrate the country's connection with the 27-million-strong Indian diaspora living in 150 countries, Mr Ahluwalia said last Sunday that India was reaching out to NRIs not for their money, but because it valued the long, socio-cultural footprint all Indians living in India and abroad shared.
Questioning the methodology of CSO in computing economic growth projections, the Planning Commission today said it has ignored the rising growth trend while working out estimates for 2012-13.
The rupee will soon join the elite currencies like the US dollar, the euro, British pound and Japanese yen in having a distinct identity.
Favouring labour reforms but without 'hire-and-fire' system, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Friday said rigidities in labour laws were affecting the domestic job market.
He feels much of the problems arise at the level of state governments rather at the central government level.
Montek also said he did not consider the fall of about two per cent or so in Asian markets, including India this morning, as severe.
He was speaking to reporters along with Union Minister of State for Planning Ashwini Kumar on the sidelines of the Regional Consultation with five Eastern States on the Approach Paper to be finalised by the Planning Commission.
The debate over remuneration of CEOs on Monday grew louder with Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia stating that company heads should not be paid 'indecent salaries'.
After kicking off the Budget exercise early this week, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday had a brain-storming session with Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on the state of the economy.
Government sources in the PMO said Montek Singh Ahluwalia and other panel members will continue till the next Planning Commission is constituted by the prime minister. The apex panel plays a crucial role in the budgetary process. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is likely to present the Budget in the first week of July. Though the recommendations of the Plan panel are not legally binding, the inputs are crucial in dealing with the planned expenditure by the government.
Ahluwalia's comment comes at a time when the government is facing flak over its decision to open up the multi-brand retail sector to foreign investment.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, who has just resigned, on Monday remained non-committal on his prospects of becoming finance minister while describing reports on this as "speculation".
Both sides have already agreed on restructuring of the schemes and curtailing the subsidy bill, Ahluwalia told reporters after the meeting.
With the inflation rate almost halving from the peak levels in August and economic growth slackening, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia today said there is further scope for the Reserve Bank of India to cut lending rates.
Blaming earlier policies for "discriminating" against labour intensive sectors and leading to "significant deceleration" in employment, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Friday
Indian economy grew at a nine-year low rate of 5.3 per cent in January-March quarter in the last financial year and also in the last fiscal at 6.5 per cent.
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