Search the Internet          Tips  Sites: Finance, Investment

Selloff proceeds to be used to service debt: Sinha

Proceeds of the divestment in public sector undertakings would be used for debt servicing, restructuring of the PSUs and rural development programmes, the Lok Sabha was informed on Friday.

Replying to queries during question hour, Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha said a major portion of the proceeds from the divestment would be for rural projects and hoped that if Rs 12,000 billion were mopped up as envisaged in the Budget, Rs 5,000 billion would be earmarked for rural development programmes.

To a question by Abdulla Kutty (CPI-M) referring to media reports that the government was proposing to bring the Fiscal Responsibility Bill under pressure from international financial institutions like the World Bank and IMF, Sinha said, " media reports that the government is under pressure from World Bank and IMF as far as passage of the Bill was concerned is not correct."

Sinha said that the government wanted to bring the legislation as it was in national interest.

"I have also conveyed to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance that there was no pressure on the government from international financial institutions to bring this legislation", he said which was vouched by Shivraj Patil (Congress) who was chairman of the Committee.

Sinha said the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Bill includes provisions relating to ceilings on debt, deficit and borrowing.

He said the long-term sustainability of the fiscal policy rests upon the complete elimination of revenue deficit and containment of fiscal deficit within a manageable level.

Tell us what you think of this report