Barely three days before the Union Budget, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Monday said it would be a mistake to withdraw the fiscal stimulus to the labour-intensive sectors.
"there are many labour-intensive sectors which are still doing badly. It would be a mistake then to withdraw support to those sectors and that is what I have discussed in our pre-Budget consultations," Sharma said.
Sharma said while India's stimulus package was over $80 billion, the country is a part of the interconnected world which has not shown uniform signs of recovery.
To boost exports hit by the global slump in demand, the government had given several incentives like interest subsidy and increased insurance cover to exporters.
After falling for consecutive 13 months since October 2008, exports are registering growth from November 2009.
On striking a balance between containing inflation and sustaining growth, he said, "The Finance Minister's task is not an easy one."
He said the inflation has been of serious concern to the government.
"The Cabinet has discussed it and the measures are being taken. Hopefully these will have the desired impact," he said.
President Partibha Patil in her address to Parliament has also highlighted that tackling inflation, particularly of food items was of utmost priority of the government.
Source : ndtv.com