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Wednesday, Jul 08, 2009
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Shedding equity on agenda: Pranab

Special Correspondent

“Road map after talks with stakeholders”

NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday said that even as he had taken a “calculated” risk in opting for a higher fiscal deficit to push growth without laying down a road map for disinvestment in the budget for 2009-10, equity sell-off in public sector undertakings (PSUs) would be on the government’s economic policy agenda.

In his first post-budget interaction with apex chambers here, Mr. Mukherjee noted that the government was committed to divesting its equity in PSUs but would retain a minimum of 51 per cent equity in these enterprises. “I have made our intentions clear, to encourage people’s participation in our disinvestment programmes while retaining at least 51 per cent equity in our enterprises,” he said.

He pointed out that the budget was not the only document and perhaps not the appropriate place to put forth micro details and minute aspects of the disinvestment programme. A road map in this regard should come out after deliberations with all the stakeholders, he said.

During the session which had the chambers — Assocham, CII and FICCI — asking for tax breaks in more sectors, Mr. Mukherjee assured India Inc. that the tax cuts announced in the stimulus packages would not be rolled back, nor would the Centre’s market borrowings up to about Rs. 4 lakh crore tend to crowd out the private sector.

“I have no intention of rolling back [tax cuts given in stimulus packages]... No doubt I have taken a risk, a risk of leaving fiscal deficit of 6.8 per cent which is perhaps the highest,” he said, while noting that he would strive to pare down the high fiscal deficit of 6.8 per cent of the GDP estimated for this fiscal to 5.5 per cent in the next year and to four per cent in 2011-12.

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