Govt keeping eye on inflation: Sitharaman in Rajya Sabha

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said the government is keeping an eye on inflation which is purely “extraneous” nowadays because of fuel and fertiliser prices.

Replying to the debat on the Supplementary Demands for Grants in the Rajya Sabha, the minister said wholesale inflation has fallen to a 21-month low. Later, the Rajya Sabha returned the Supplementary Demands for Grants to the Lok Sabha, thus completing the process of authorising the government to spend an additional Rs 3.25 lakh crore in FY2022-23.

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Retail inflation based on consumer price index which remained above the Reserve Bank’s tolerance level of 6 per cent since January this year has declined to 5.88 per cent in November. The minister also said private investment capex is taking place in India because of favourable policies like PLI and cited few examples. Sitharaman also stressed that the supplementary demand for grants is essentially for food security, fertiliser requirements and providing support to the Indian economy.

She said the buoyancy in tax collection will help the government in meeting the additional expenditure being sought through the Supplementary Demands for Grants for grants. The Lok Sabha approved the Supplementary Demands for Grants, authorising the government to spend additional Rs 3.25 lakh crore in 2022-23 fiscal. The finance minister also informed the House that Gross NPAs of banks has declined to 6-year low of 5.9 pc in March 2022. She also said the government’s targeted approach to deal with Covid impact has helped India in reviving growth without going into recession.