New Delhi: Next month's Union Budget will focus on maintaining high growth and give 'relief' to sectors under 'stress' such as those affected by the rupee appreciation, according to Finance Minister, P Chidambaram.
In the minister's book there is no such thing as 'election Budget' although he acknowledges that his next budgetary exercise will be the last 'full budget' of the UPA Government.
If elections are held on time before May 2009 then there will be a vote-on-account next year. As he prepares his fifth consecutive Budget, Chidambaram says he has no worries other than about some sectors under 'stress', which he would address.
Chidambaram admits that delivery of promised goods and services has not been satisfactory. But he is of the view that there is enough time for improvement in this area.
He said 16 months between now and the scheduled time of Lok sabha elections was a lot of time. "Delivery has not been satisfactory. 16 months is enough time to improve the delivery of goods and services."
Confident of a 9 per cent economic growth in the current fiscal, Chidambaram said that 'the thrust of the Budget (2008-09) will be to maintain high growth and ensure that the growth process endorses and includes larger and larger sections of the people."
Refusing to accept that this will be an election Budget, he said budgets did not decide elections. “What decides elections is the capacity to deliver what you say. Budgets only give outlays and don’t ensure outcomes. Between outlays and outcomes there is something called governance and delivery,” the finance minister said.
He said budgets certainly raised expectations and “we support these expectations with financial outlays”. “It was the outcome of the Budget that would decide if we had delivered or not,” he said. Growth, he emphasised, was imperative.
“Inclusive growth is what we must work for. It requires hard work. It requires better governance. It requires delivery of goods and services.” Admitting that the delivery of promised goods and services had not been satisfactory, Chidambaram said there was enough time for improvement. He added the 16 months between the present and the Lok Sabha elections were enough.
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