Food inflation numbers have moderated every week since early November when it stood at double-digit.
Responding to the price rise debate in Lok Sabha, Mukherjee said that it should be tackled by leaders across all the political parties.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was aware of the contents of the controversial 2G note which was issued as an office memorandum at the insistence of the Prime Minister's Office, a top official told the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Thursday.
The ministry also plans to set up a compliance committee along with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry on a public-private partnership mode to look into issues of small and medium enterprises and help them comply with the environmental laws.
Speaking about the challenges and the opportunities of development in a globalised era, Mukherjee said, sustaining high growth over an extended period has become more complex.
Earlier in the day, the White House said that it would be monitoring the progress on the Chinese assurance that it would be making its currency more flexible. It also said that currency, indeed, would be one of the topics of discussions during upcoming G-20 Summit in Toronto.
Giving a pat on the back of public sector banks, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said the Indian banking sector has responded well to difficult global environment by meeting credit needs of the economy.
The Finance Minister said despite adverse international environment, India managed to maintain GDP growth rate of about 7 per cent in 2011-12.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said Indian markets cannot remain immune to the Eurozone debt problems and will feel the impact if the $1 trillion bailout package by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund does not inspire confidence.
Food inflation for the week ending January 1 slipped to 16.91 per cent from the year's high of 18.32 per cent a year ago during the previous week.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday asked banks and financial institutions, which have exposure to companies involved in the multi-crore rupee housing finance racket, to ensure that investor money is safe.
The government proposed to borrow about Rs 4.5 lakh crore (Rs 4.5 trillion) from the money market during the current fiscal against Rs 3.1 lakh crore (Rs 3.1 trillion) in the previous fiscal.
The Left parties were on Tuesday subjected to ridicule by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee who suggested that they were not keeping pace with the "moving" world and contended that the UPA would have met its Waterloo if it had followed economic prescription of erstwhile allies.
The hike in prices of petroleum goods led to protests in several parts of the country and many state governments announced the withdrawal of value added tax on petroleum products to lessen the impact of the hike on the common man.
Headline inflation for March stood at 8.98 per cent, while food inflation was at 8.76 per cent for the week ended April 16.
He said with an aim to make the FDI policy user friendly, all prior regulations and guidelines have been consolidated into a comprehensive document.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Wednesday fundamentals of the Indian economy are strong despite concerns of inflation and growth, and the overall environment will improve significantly if Parliament functions and approves important legislations.
When the industrial crisis engulfed developed countries and the financial meltdown became a major financial crisis all over the world, it had its worst impact, the minister said adding that credit is required for investment, for carrying business and using it for productive purposes.
Diplomat-turned-politician Mani Shankar Aiyar on Friday tore into United Progressive Alliance's handling of Anna Movement, which he said was a "Frankenstein monster" created by the central government itself.
The finance minister said the early signs of improvement in the Indian economy are seen despite no big recovery visible in the global economy.
As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh shared with industry leaders in New Delhi on Sunday, his government's intent to wind down stimulus measures next year, Mukherjee told reporters in St Andrews, Scotland, that he had already told Parliament high fiscal deficit was not sustainable in the long run.
Mukherjee said uncertainty was still there on oil prices front due to unrest in West Asia and North Africa.
When questioned on recent efforts by the US to bring up issues against India at the World Trade Organization, most recently to thwart India's efforts to market generic drugs, Rao reiterated the 'candour in the dialogue' both countries have which had helped maintain a balance, eschewing any extreme decisions.
The new United Progressive Alliance government will prepare an approach paper to address the key issues of the economy against the backdrop of the global economic slowdown.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday said India has not given any assurance to his French counterpart Christine Lagarde on support for her candidature to the post of IMF's managing director.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday expressed concern over rising food inflation, saying it is perilously near double digits.
For India, the ideal inflation rate would be 4-5 per cent although it may be difficult to attain, the minister said while inaugurating the Economic Editors' Conference in New Delhi.
"Because when we disrupt the House then it serves no purpose. We cannot hear. We cannot speak. Only a handful of members completely throttle the desire of a silent majority to speak," Pranab Mukherjee said, initiating the debate to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the first sitting of Parliament.
"It is a dastardly attack and I can only tell it has strengthened our resolve to fight against this menace...," Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said, when asked about Monday's attack by the Maoists.
Mukherjee is in Washington, DC to co-chair the US-India CEO's Forum with US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday spurned Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's request for inputs on the proposed Lokpal Bill, arguing it would not be proper for a political party to submit its views to a drafting committee comprising civil society members as it would upset constitutional propriety.
"Jobs must be protected even if it means some reduction in compensation at various levels," Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said at International Labour Conference in New Delhi.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led opposition walked out of the Lok Sabha on Thursday afternoon, specifically protesting on the issue of Balochistan and the delinking of terror from the composite dialogue process.
Driven by high vegetable prices, the food inflation is in double digit for the past two months and even crossed 18 per cent in the last week of December 25.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was conspicuous by his absence at a joint group photograph of members of both the Houses on Wednesday to commemorate 60th anniversary of Parliament as he was not informed.
During his whirlwind election tour in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, also the United Progressive Alliance's chief interlocutor, tells Saubhadra Chatterji the government has its own way of moving against corruption:
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that the government will have to find some solution to the feisty issue of opening up of retail sector for FDI.
Defending the Centre's decision to deploy paramilitary forces in Lalgarh, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday said the Centre could not sit idle when lives of people were in danger and the state government failed to reopen Lalgarh police station.
The headline inflation declined to 9.11 per cent in November against 9.73 per cent in the previous month.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday sought to downplay the battle of attrition between Indian Army chief General V K Singh and the government.
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