Indian finance minister rules out interim budget
AFP, New Delhi
Indian Finance Minister Jaswant Singh Friday dismissed the possibility that the government would present an interim annual budget in February before general elections next year. There were fears that an interim budget would be weak on reforms and take away the momentum of an expected 7.0 percent growth this year. "There will be no vote-on-account budget. As the prime minister has said that general election will be held as per schedule, so there will be a full budget," Singh said. The general elections are due to be held in October while the budget is presented every year in February. Singh said that the budgetary policies would give a renewed thrust to reforms, with heavy emphasis on the agricultural sector, which makes up nearly a quarter of the economy.
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