To bolster economic growth, India should continue to gradually bring down the fiscal deficit and usher in fuel subsidy reforms, a senior International Monetary Fund official said.
Inflation, a challenge Inflation, which has been at high levels, is also a key challenge for the country, Thomas J. Richardson, the IMF’s Senior Resident Representative in India and Nepal, said here on Wednesday.
“It is important to continue the gradual process of bringing the fiscal deficit from relatively high levels to lower levels. It should not be done overnight and should be done gradually...it will help reduce vulnerability to external shocks and make India more durable for international investors as well as for domestic investors,” Mr. Richardson said.
The country’s fiscal deficit stood at 4.5 per cent of GDP in the previous financial year.
Pitching for reforms in fuel subsidies, he said they were “not only extensive but actually regressive.’’
