FM to hold pre-budget talks today

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will start the customary pre-budget consultations with different interest groups tomorrow for preparation of the budget,likely to be presented in the first week of July. Mukherjee will hold consultations with trade and industry bodies,economists,agriculturists,bankers and corporate honchos in the run up to the budget,which industry hopes will be growth-oriented. We will meet the FM for the pre-budget consultations on Monday, Ficci president Harsh Pati Singhania said as he plans to ask the government for steps to restore economic growth,ensure national security and improve governance.

Apart from industry bodies as Ficci,CII,Assocham and FIEO,industry sources say the Finance Minister will hold discussions with corporate honchos like Ratan Tata,Mukesh Ambani,Anil Ambani,Kumarmangalam Birla and Sunil Bharti Mittal. The regular budget 2009-10 exercises are underway in full swing, Mukherjee had said on Thursday.

With inflation at low levels,the industry bodies see no reason for interest rates not falling to single digit levels. CII president Venu Srinivasan had earlier said that interest rates in India remain high compared to many other economies.

Industry bodies had presented their pre-budget memorandum to Revenue Secretary P V Bhide even before the formation of the new government. The Prime Ministers Office has also started work on the 100-day action plan for the new government and at the same time different ministries are also finalising priority programmes for the first three months.