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.
During the fourth quarter of last fiscal, the economy had grown at a nine-year low rate of 5.3 per cent. During the entire fiscal of 2011-12, the economy grew by 6.5 per cent.
The government has plans for the third round of spectrum auction and may put on block 2G GSM airwaves in Delhi and Mumbai circles, and CDMA spectrum in 13 circles that remained unsold in the previous sale held in March, according to sources.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia warned that any extraordinary steps to contain inflation may prove counter-productive.
Monsoon has missed its date this year with granary states of Punjab and Haryana.
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.
Students of Kolkata's Presidency College on Saturday hurled eggs and tomatoes at Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia to protest price rise while he was leaving a seminar, but missed their target.Eyewitnesses said that student demonstrators belonging to the Students Federation of India, affiliated to the Communist Party of India - Marxist, threw eggs and tomatoes and waved black flags at Ahluwalia as he was leaving a UGC-sponsored national seminar.
In an interview to CFO Asia, a publication of The Economist Group, Montek Singh Ahluwalia said the general public was opposed to privatisation of state-owned enterprises although they feel that public sector was inefficient and corrupt.
With a view to find a long term alternative to scarce petroleum products, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia
Concerned over sluggish growth and poor investment climate, Assocham President Rajkumar Dhoot met Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Thursday and demanded the controversial tax proposal GAAR be put in 'cold storage'.
Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, however, had said that stimulus measures need to continue till there is robust recovery in the developed world, which account for bulk of India's exports.
As the debate is on to decontrol fuel prices, the Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Thursday said it would be a bad idea to continue with subsidies to keep oil prices subdued.
The Planning Commission on Tuesday said it expected industrial production to beat last year's growth and attributed the revival to various stimulus measures. His comments came after latest government data showed that factory production grew 11.7 per cent in November last year.
"If half a dozen other developing countries could do it, India can too. There are some things we need to do and if we do them right, there should be no doubt about achieving the projected growth rates," Ahluwalia said.
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.
The Plan panel on Wednesday said the government's refusal to accord environment clearance to Vedanta's proposed $1.7 billion aluminium project in Orissa would not tarnish India's image as an investment friendly destination.
With economic conditions turning better compared to that three months ago, the Planning Commission on Monday said economy should record at least 6.7 per cent growth rate this fiscal, the same as was witnessed in 2008-09.
The Planning Commission will bring out a policy paper on the regulatory framework for the infrastructure sector by end of 2004.
The Planning Commission on said food prices will come down in the next two months easing the overall inflation, which is currently at over 8.5 per cent.
Planning Commission on Friday said there is no case for providing stimulus to the industry to arrest moderating growth as the fiscal deficit is high and may exceed the Budget estimate of 4.6 per cent by about one percentage point.
Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla, in an impromptu chat with reporters, sided with Sebi, while Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia cited the spat to make a case for setting up a Financial Development and Stability Council (FSDC).
Planning commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Tuesday said the government should consider general lowering of duty rates across sectors to avoid creating arbitrage under free trade agreements.
The Planning Commission sees stronger economic expansion in the second half which could push up the growth rate for the current fiscal to beyond 6.3 per cent projected earlier by the panel.
The Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said on Wednesday objections to the disinvestment progammes of the government can be sorted out through discussions. Although the government has expressed its commitment to offload equity in state-owned companies while retaining 51 per cent share, the supporting Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam had raised objections to it.
Home Minister P Chidambaram and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia rejected reports that they were locked in a turf war over the ambitious UIDAI project to give every Indian resident a unique ID number Aadhar.
This is more than double the money that the state got during the Xth plan.
Overall inflation, which has been in double digits for the last five months, was 10.55 per cent in June.
Inflation, as measured by the Wholesale Price Index, had stood at 7.47 per cent in December 2011.
The economy will turn the corner in the next six months as the deceleration of the past several quarters has been arrested, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said on Monday.
The Planning Commission on Monday said the fiscal deficit, the difference between total revenue and expenditure, will not exceed the budgetary estimate of 6.8 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).
A good wheat crop this season is likely to ease the near double digit inflation in the next 2-3 months, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said on Wednesday.
Terming the Union Budget as an excellent document, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Monday said efforts were on to break the impasse on turnover tax on securities transactions.
Differing with International Monetary Fund's growth forecast of 4.9 per cent for India during 2012, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said it has a statistical problem.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Wednesday called for sweeping reforms in education and health to make the surging economic growth truly inclusive.
Stock markets might be tumbling like ninepins but India's policy planners feel the crash on the bourses is just in line with global trends and the economy is not overheated, as all macro indicators remain strong.
In order to help the industry combat the impact of global financial crisis, the government had provided three stimulus packages to the industry resulting in a revenue sacrifice of Rs 1.86 lakh crore (Rs 1.86 trillion).
Deficient monsoon is likely to pull down the economic growth in the current fiscal to about six per cent, from 6.5 per cent a year ago, the Planning Commission said on Friday.
All members of the Planning Commission have submitted their resignations to the Prime Minister's Office paying the way for reconstitution of the institution.
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