Indicating that the Government would unleash more measures to boost economy, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Monday ruled out rolling back decisions on diesel price hike, LPG cylinder cap and FDI in retail. He expressed confidence that the government faces no threat from allies either inside or outside.

Chidambaram said between now and October 30, the Department of Revenue, Disinvestment and SEBI would decide on steps to revitalise economy, hinting that they will be in the areas which he had talked about in his August 6 statement after he took over.

During the hour-long interaction with select journalists, the Finance Minister touched upon on various issues including Vodafone tax issue, GST, Direct Taxes Code and fiscal consolidation.

“Opposition will demand a rollback. As far as I know we are not rolling back any of these decisions,” he said. He said “a political government knows what is doable and what is not doable. Advisers can advise, but we have done what is doable”.

By capping supply of subsidised LPG cylinder to six per family in a year, he said the government has altered the behaviour of others. “People who got their 100 cylinders at subsidised rates may not go beyond 30. Behaviour would alter. And once we link LPG to Aadhar, a large number of duplication will be eliminated. These are invisible savings which are likely to come in the long run,” he said.

Chidambaram dismissed the perception that government plunged into action because of a “looming threat” of downgrading by rating agencies.

He said government does not frame policy for rating agencies. “We don’t make policies to get rating by credit rating agencies. We are making policies, what are doable and what are implementable. We make policies which have broad acceptance. We see that this is ultimately what government can do.

“What government does can prompt them (rating agencies) to rate government bonds,” he said.

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