Amid rupee depreciation and weak economic growth numbers, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Saturday denied that the country would approach the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for any assistance, adding that the current economic situation was not so bad that outside help is needed.
Commenting on the forex reserve, he assured that the RBI’s forex reserves are adequate to manage the difficult situation. India’s foreign exchange reserves were up at $ 278.602 billion as of August 9. While clearing the government’s stand towards approaching IMF for assistance, Ahluwalia said, “Our current economic situation does not warrant it. I do not anticipate it in the near future.” India hasn’t approached IMF for funds since 1991, when the country was facing balance of payment crisis.
Further commenting on the current account deficit (CAD) numbers, Ahluwalia said there will be no “real improvement” in the CAD till the end of the July-September quarter of FY14. Government is aiming to bring down the CAD to $ 70 billion or 3.7 per cent of GDP in FY14 from a record high of $ 88 billion or 4.8 per cent of GDP in last financial year.
He was briefing media persons about the upcoming summit of G20 economies that included India. The two-day summit which will be attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is to be held in St Petersburg in Russia from September 5.