Finance Council meets for first time; sees India hitting double-digit growth

Dec 31, 2010

Regulators' meet: (Left) The IRDA Chairman, Mr J. Hari Narayan; the RBI Governor,Dr. D. Subbarao; and the SEBI Chairman, Mr C.B. Bhave, on their way to the firstmeeting of Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) at North Block in theCapital on Friday. (Right) The Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, briefs the mediaafter the meeting. - Ramesh Sharma

Our Bureau

New Delhi, Dec. 31

For the Indian economy, 2011 is set to start on a strong and reassuring note. The newly set-up Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC), which met on Friday for the first time, sees the economy not only sustaining its present growth levels, but also attaining double-digit growth in the coming years.

The FSDC meeting, chaired by the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, assessed the state of the Indian economy and also the signs of economic recovery in the West. It concluded that India's exports are likely to see an improvement in 2011, on the back of better economic growth in the US.

The European Union could also see positive growth though the sovereign debt crisis and woes of some nations are a matter of concern, it was noted.

The general conclusion was that 2011 could see improvement in the world economy.

The currency issues, as is being played out, could have implications for India, the FSDC noted.

It was felt that the effort to keep the value of currencies artificially low could have adverse impact on the competitiveness of Indian companies, both within, and outside the country.

"If nations adopt protectionist measures, it could have serious implications for the world economy as a whole," the FSDC said in a statement.

It was also decided at the meeting that necessary guidelines for FSDC's functioning would soon be issued.

Source