Govt pledges to press ahead with economic reforms
Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha pledged on Thursday to press ahead with economic reforms and announced a cut in interest rates on popular small savings schemes to help encourage economic growth.
Presenting the Budget for the financial year starting in April, Sinha said the government would sell state-owned companies and cut subsidies in order to cut the fiscal deficit and revive growth.
"The basic fundamentals of the economy remain strong," he told Parliament. He said the government would cut the administered interest rate on small savings by 50 basis points.
Sinha is presenting the Budget at a time when the Bharatiya Janata Party, faces one of its biggest crises.
Defeated in state polls over the weekend, it now faces a potential flare-up of communal tensions after a suspected Muslim mob attacked a train carrying Hindu activists in Gujarat on Wednesday, killing 58 people.
The text of the Union Budget will be available on the following Web sites: www.finmin.nic.in and indiabudget.nic.in.
Reuters
YOU MAY ALSO WANT TO READ:
The Rediff Budget Special
The Rail Budget 2002-03
The Economic Survey 2001-02
More Budget Stories
Money