Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said while the sharp slide in the
value of the rupee caused by external developments was a matter of
concern, there was no question of capital controls and India would
remain an open economy.
"The depreciation in the value of the
rupee since end of May is a matter of concern," the prime minister told
the Lok Sabha. "What triggered the sharp depreciation in rupee was the
market's reaction to unexpected external developments," he added.
"Clearly,
we need to reduce our appetite for gold, economise the use of petroleum
products and take steps to increase our exports," he said. At the same
time, the fall in rupee's value is good to some extent as it makes
exports competitive, he added.
The prime minister also assured
that the country's growth which has slipped will pick up soon, and
everything would be done to contain the fiscal deficit at 4.8 percent of
the gross domestic product (GDP).
The Indian rupee has lost
almost 20 percent against the US dollar this fiscal, largely due to
pull-out by foreign funds from the Indian markets after the US central
bank hinted that it would lower fiscal stimulus as the economy shows
sign of recovery.
The rupee fell nearly 4 percent to hit a record
low of 68.85 per dollar Wednesday, the biggest single-day percentage
loss since October 1995. But the currency recovered and surged 3.5
percent to close at 66.55 against a dollar a day later.
The prime
minister, who had made a brief statement on the economic situation
Thursday as well, also sought to lift market sentiments Friday with
assurances on reforms.
"Last two decades have seen India grow as
an open economy and benefited from it. There is no question of reversing
these policies," he said. "I would like to assure the house and the
world the government is not contemplating any measures on capital
controls."
The prime minister said the fundamentals of the Indian
economy had continued to remain strong and that both the central bank
and the government were taking steps to contain inflation. He said
efforts were also underway to contain the current account deficit.
"Growth-friendly
way to contain the deficit is to spend carefully, especially on
subsidies that do not reach the poor. We will take steps," the prime
minister said, while also seeking the support of political parties to
pursue good policies.
"The easy reforms of the past have been
done. For more difficult reforms, we need political consensus. I urge
across political parties to work towards and join in the government's
efforts to put the economy back on the path of stable growth."
Indian Banks well capitalised to provide for bad loans: PM
Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh today said Indian banks are 'well-capitalised'
to provide for increased bad loans till they become performing.
"Our
banks are fortunately well capitalised much above the Basel norms. They
have the capacity to provide for any non-performing assets until those
assets have turned around," Singh said while making a statement in
Parliament.
"The question that need to be asked is that whether
there is liquidity problem or a solvency problem. My belief is that
there is liquidity problem," he said.
"Many of the projects are
not unviable but are only delayed...as these projects come on stream, we
will generate revenue and repay loans," he said.
Indian banking sector has seen some rise in bad loans, he admitted.
Gross non-performing assets (NPA) of public sector banks rose to Rs.1.76 lakh crore at the end of June quarter from Rs.1.55 lakh crore at March 31, 2013.
The stress on the asset quality is a reflection of the stress in the economy of the country.
Public sector banks had recovered Rs.1,905 crore by filing 97,701 suits in 2012-13 and Rs.1,700 crore through 79,117 suits in the earlier fiscal.