During her visit to Washington DC to attend the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, the finance minister was responding to a question on the next year's budget at a fire-side chat with eminent economist Eshwar Prasad at the prestigious Brookings Institute.
“Specifics (of the next budget) may be difficult at this stage because it's a bit too early. But broadly, the growth priorities will be kept absolutely on the top. Even as I speak about the concerns that inflation brings before me. So, inflation concerns will have to be addressed. But then how would you manage growth would be the natural question," Sitharaman said.
India’s next annual budget is scheduled to be presented by FM Sitharaman before the Parliament next February and preparations for it are likely to begin in December.
“But that's the point of being sure how you're going to be able to balance the two and be sure that the momentum that the Indian economy has got coming out of the pandemic and the momentum with which it will grow even the next year, even as per the many many multilateral institutions which are observing India cannot be weakened," she said.
“So, it will have to again be a very carefully structured budget in which growth momentum will have to be sustained," Sitharaman said.
Sitharaman is on an official visit to the US. During her visit, she will be attending the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, the G20 Finance Ministers, and the Central Bank Governor (FMCBG) Meetings.
The Finance Minister will take part in bilateral meetings with several countries, including Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Bhutan, New Zealand, Egypt, Germany, Mauritius, UAE, Iran, and the Netherlands.
The Finance Minister will also hold one-on-one meetings with leaders & heads of OECD, the European Commission, and UNDP. In a high-level meeting, the Finance Minister will meet US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and David Malpass, President, World Bank separately to discuss issues of mutual interest.
Separately she said that the Centre is in talks with different countries to make Rupay acceptable in their nations.
“Not just that, the UPI (Unified Payments Interface), the BHIM app, and NCPI (the National Payments Corporation of India) are all now being worked in such a way that their systems in their respective country, however, robust or otherwise can talk to our system and the inter-operability itself will give strength for Indians expertise in those countries," she said.
“We are working together with several countries," Sitharaman said in response to a question from an Indian student at the University of Maryland, who wanted to have the UPI in the United States as well.
Sitharaman made the remarks at the prestigious Brookings Institute think-tank during a fireside chat with eminent economist Eshwar Prasad.
