JOIN USStimulus will stay till world is out of woods: PM
Indian government had announced three stimulus packages to boost the economy reeling under the impact of the global meltdown, which was triggered by the collapse of America’s iconic investment banker Lehman Brothers.
The government had pumped in about Rs 3 lakh crore in 2008-09 and 2009-10, besides providing host of tax concessions to the industry. In addition to the fiscal measures, the Reserve Bank made available about Rs 2 lakh crore to help the cash-starved industry.
The issues concerning withdrawal of stimulus packages were also discussed at the ASEAN meeting and the global leaders were for a balanced approach.
It’s RBI’s preserve
The Prime Minister, however, parried questions on interest rates and RBI’s upcoming monetary policy saying it is the “preserve” of the RBI.
Singh said RBI is an independent body and he would not like to comment. The Reserve Bank is slated to announce the quarterly review of the monetary policy on October 27.
“It is not proper for me to comment on the monetary policy stance that should be adopted. These are matters on which the (RBI) governor is competent to take decisions.
“He does come and brief me from time to time. And I am satisfied that both the monetary and fiscal policies in our country are in line with our requirements,” the prime minister said.
“We must learn lessons from the global economic crisis. One of these is the need to ensure coordination in our growth policies. The other is to keep the real economy strong and sound,” he said.