Former Indian finance minister calls for rate cut

Singapore

INDIA'S former Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram has joined his successor in advocating lower interest rates, while stopping short of endorsing the current administration's budget.

"I would like interest rates to drift down," Mr Chidambaram, who served as finance minister for much of the 10 years to mid-2014, said in an interview in Singapore on Saturday. "Growth was sluggish, but it has recovered, and one must ensure that the recovery is sustained."

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has called for lower rates even after giving the central bank a legal mandate to target inflation. He deviated from a road map to shrink India's fiscal deficit in his budget presented on Feb 28, spending more on infrastructure to spur investment and buying time for longer-ter…