India to take steps to stimulate economy: Chidambaram

India's News.Net
Tuesday 18th November, 2008 (ANI)

New Delhi, Nov 18 : Finance Minister P. Chidambaram today said that India will take steps to stimulate the economy to offset the impact of the global economic slowdown.

Addressing at the World Economic Forum's India Summit here, the Minister said, "India has already cut interest rates and taken a series of measures to boost liquidity in its banking system after the credit crisis spilled into its markets in October."

"We will take steps to stimulate the domestic economy to compensate for the downside caused by the downturn in the world economy. India has returned very satisfactory and decent growth rate given world conditions. And next year I am confident we'll bounce back," he added.

He said that India was likely to end the year with a satisfactory growth rate, although he declined to put an exact number on the expected rate.

"India has grown at an annual rate of nine percent or above for the past three years but is expected by many private economists to grow at about seven percent this fiscal year to March 2009," he added.

He further said that Asia's third-largest economy could miss its annual export target of 200 billion dollars for this fiscal year as the slowdown in developed nation's trims overseas demand.

He urged companies to cut real estate prices and prices of goods such as cars as a way to stimulate domestic demand, saying state-run banks had assured him they were ready to lend to borrowers.

Chidambaram will meet Central Bank Governor later today.

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