SHRI Y.S. CHOWDARY Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to satate :- (a) whether it is a fact that Current Account Deficit (CAD) has been on rise during the last three years;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether it is also a fact that the Current Account Deficit (CAD) will remain high for two more years; and
(d) the steps taken/being taken by Government to contain it as quickly as possible?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (SHRI NAMO NARAIN MEENA)
(a) & (b) Current account deficit (CAD) during the last three years is given below. ------------------------------------------------ Year CAD (US$ billion) CAD as per cent of GDP 2010-11 48.1 2.8 2011-12 78.2 4.2 2012-13 88.2 4.8 ------------------------------------------------
(c) & (d) The Government has taken a slew of initiatives to boost exports and to contain imports to lower trade deficit and thereby CAD. The Government announced various export enhancing measures in June 2012, December 2012 and April 2013. In July 2013, Government has increased the rate of interest subvention from 2 per cent to 3 per cent to benefit the exporters of small and medium enterprises and also for the most of the labour intensive sectors. In order to lower the import of gold, the Government had raised the import duty from 2 per cent to 4 per cent on gold in the Budget 2012-13, which was enhanced to 6 per cent in January 2013 and further to 8 per cent in June 2013. As a step towards restricting the gold imports, Government has linked the gold imports with the gold exports, whereby 20 per cent of the imported gold has to be channelized for gold exporters. Inflation Indexed Bonds has been introduced on June 04, 2013 to wean away investors from the gold to other savings instruments and help in moderating gold demand. Apart from these measures, the Government has revised diesel prices and capped subsidized LPG cylinders to consumers to contain the fiscal burden of subsidies in September 2012. In January 2013, oil marketing companies were permitted to raise diesel prices in small measures periodically. These measures are expected to moderate the demand for oil imports. Given the steps taken by the Government to enhance exports and to lower imports, it is expected that CAD will moderate in the current fiscal. Twitter Link To This Post Facebook Link To This Post Google + Link To This Post
SHRI Y.S. CHOWDARY Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to satate :- (a) whether GDP growth rate in the first year of Twelfth Plan will remain below 5 per cent;
(b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor; and
(c) the steps taken or being taken by Government to boost the GDP growth rate?
ANSWER
FINANCE MINISTER (SHRI P. CHIDAMBARAM)
(a) to (c): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 119 BY SHRI Y. S. CHOWDARY REGARDING “STEPS FOR BOOSTING GDP GROWTH RATE” FOR ANSWER ON AUGUST 13, 2013
As per the provisional estimates released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the growth rate of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measured at factor cost at constant (2004-05) prices, in the first year of the Twelfth Plan (2012-13) is estimated to be 5.0 per cent. The Government has taken several steps to revive growth in the economy that, inter alia, include measures to speed up project implementation via the creation of the Cabinet Committee on Investment (CCI); boost to infrastructure financing by encouraging Infrastructure Debt Funds, enhancement of credit to infrastructure companies; provision of greater support to MSMEs; strengthening of financial and banking sectors, etc. Initiatives by the Government also include liberalisation of FDI norms in several sectors including telecom; deregulation of the sugar sector; decision to launch inflation indexed bonds to incentivize households to save in financial instruments; fiscal consolidation through fiscal reforms viz. reduction in the subsidy of diesel, cap on the number of subsidised LPG cylinders; new gas pricing guidelines, etc. The Government has taken several measures to increase exports, contain imports and attract foreign investment in order to reduce the current account deficit and improve the outlook of the external sector. Some of these measures include raising the rate of interest subvention from 2 to 3 per cent that will benefit exporters of small and medium enterprises, hike in import duty on gold, etc.
SHRI Y.S. CHOWDARY Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to satate :- (a) whether it is a fact that Current Account Deficit (CAD) has been on rise during the last three years;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether it is also a fact that the Current Account Deficit (CAD) will remain high for two more years; and
(d) the steps taken/being taken by Government to contain it as quickly as possible?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (SHRI NAMO NARAIN MEENA)
(a) & (b) Current account deficit (CAD) during the last three years is given below. ------------------------------------------------ Year CAD (US$ billion) CAD as per cent of GDP 2010-11 48.1 2.8 2011-12 78.2 4.2 2012-13 88.2 4.8 ------------------------------------------------
(c) & (d) The Government has taken a slew of initiatives to boost exports and to contain imports to lower trade deficit and thereby CAD. The Government announced various export enhancing measures in June 2012, December 2012 and April 2013. In July 2013, Government has increased the rate of interest subvention from 2 per cent to 3 per cent to benefit the exporters of small and medium enterprises and also for the most of the labour intensive sectors. In order to lower the import of gold, the Government had raised the import duty from 2 per cent to 4 per cent on gold in the Budget 2012-13, which was enhanced to 6 per cent in January 2013 and further to 8 per cent in June 2013. As a step towards restricting the gold imports, Government has linked the gold imports with the gold exports, whereby 20 per cent of the imported gold has to be channelized for gold exporters. Inflation Indexed Bonds has been introduced on June 04, 2013 to wean away investors from the gold to other savings instruments and help in moderating gold demand. Apart from these measures, the Government has revised diesel prices and capped subsidized LPG cylinders to consumers to contain the fiscal burden of subsidies in September 2012. In January 2013, oil marketing companies were permitted to raise diesel prices in small measures periodically. These measures are expected to moderate the demand for oil imports. Given the steps taken by the Government to enhance exports and to lower imports, it is expected that CAD will moderate in the current fiscal. Twitter Link To This Post Facebook Link To This Post Google + Link To This Post
SHRI Y.S. CHOWDARY Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to satate :- (a) whether GDP growth rate in the first year of Twelfth Plan will remain below 5 per cent;
(b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor; and
(c) the steps taken or being taken by Government to boost the GDP growth rate?
ANSWER
FINANCE MINISTER (SHRI P. CHIDAMBARAM)
(a) to (c): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 119 BY SHRI Y. S. CHOWDARY REGARDING “STEPS FOR BOOSTING GDP GROWTH RATE” FOR ANSWER ON AUGUST 13, 2013
As per the provisional estimates released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the growth rate of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measured at factor cost at constant (2004-05) prices, in the first year of the Twelfth Plan (2012-13) is estimated to be 5.0 per cent. The Government has taken several steps to revive growth in the economy that, inter alia, include measures to speed up project implementation via the creation of the Cabinet Committee on Investment (CCI); boost to infrastructure financing by encouraging Infrastructure Debt Funds, enhancement of credit to infrastructure companies; provision of greater support to MSMEs; strengthening of financial and banking sectors, etc. Initiatives by the Government also include liberalisation of FDI norms in several sectors including telecom; deregulation of the sugar sector; decision to launch inflation indexed bonds to incentivize households to save in financial instruments; fiscal consolidation through fiscal reforms viz. reduction in the subsidy of diesel, cap on the number of subsidised LPG cylinders; new gas pricing guidelines, etc. The Government has taken several measures to increase exports, contain imports and attract foreign investment in order to reduce the current account deficit and improve the outlook of the external sector. Some of these measures include raising the rate of interest subvention from 2 to 3 per cent that will benefit exporters of small and medium enterprises, hike in import duty on gold, etc.
