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Jaitley: India needs balance, not panic, to spur economy

Published Sun, Sep 24, 2017 · 09:50 PM

Mumbai

FINANCE Minister Arun Jaitley said India needs to find a balance between fiscal prudence and spending - and there's no need to panic - as he tries to dig the economy out of its deepest slump in three years.

Speaking at the Bloomberg Economic Forum in Mumbai last week, Mr Jaitley called for more private investment from local companies and said the banking system must get healthier to support that investment.

"How do you maintain the balancing act between continuing to spend in an economy, continue to maintain your banks and support them, and how do you maintain standard of fiscal prudence?" Mr Jaitley said. "And this is the challenge we are facing."

Speculation had been swirling about a stimulus to revive Asia's No. 3 economy that's bogged down by sweeping currency and tax-policy changes. With elections a little more than a year away, pressure has been building on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to spur investment and create jobs for the swelling workforce. The problem is that US tightening and rising global oil prices …

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