Jaswant rules out full convertibility

Finance Minister Jaswant Singh on Tuesday ruled out full convertibility on capital account in the country till the fiscal deficit and inflation were fully reined in. ‘‘As long as fiscal conditions are under constraint in the country and they are brought at a level that comfort us, I think there should be no anxiety regarding full convertibility,’’ Singh said during the question hour in Rajya Sabha.

A road map has also been suggested by the Tarapore committee for moving to full float of rupee, Singh said. In reply to a query on the management of the burgeoning foreign exchange reserves which have touched $100 billion, the Finance Minister said it served the country ‘‘economically, psychologically and diplomatically.’’ He said as a result of healthy foreign exchange reserves India has decided not to seek any assistance from any country.

Jaswant Singh also told the Lok Sabha on Tuesday that former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha was given a clean chit by the JPC in the multi-crore stock scam of 2001, prompting Congress, RJD and Left parties to stage a walk-out in the Lok Sabha. He was replying to a debate on the action taken report on the recommendations of the JPC, headed by Sriprakash Mani Tripathi of BJP.