Austerity is a need, not tokenism, says Mukherjee

New Delhi, Oct 30

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Friday defended the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government's austerity measures, saying those were a "need" to curtail expenditure and were not mere tokenism.

Mukherjee, who was in the midst of a controversy last month over austerity measures initiated by his ministry, said the decision on the austerity drive was taken before he was appointed the finance minister.

"It is not being Gandhian or this or that. Whatever I have done in the name of austerity was initiated even before I took over as finance minister,” he said here while addressing delegates at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, an annual conference that organisers say seeks to push discussions on pressing issues.

When delegates asked him whether the austerity move was a "token gesture", Mukherjee said: "When the country's trade was going at the reverse direction, you can't look at austerity measures as mere tokenism. Austerity is a need."

The UPA government last month advised its ministers to fly in economy class and not hold meetings in five-star hotels, and also imposed a 10-percent cut in non-plan expenditure.

"To what extend I will be able to succeed or not depends on the cooperation of the system," Mukherjee said about the implementation of the austerity drive.

Last updated on Oct 30^th, 2009 at 16:30 pm IST--IANS

Possibly related news:

Other News Headlines

Maharajas' Express chugs out from Kolkata

Kolkata, March 20

Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee Saturday night flagged off the Kolkata-Delhi luxury tourist train Maharajas' Express from here.

Government to decide on cooking gas, kerosene price hike

Chennai, March 20

The central government will take a decision on hiking the cooking gas and kerosene prices on the lines recommended by Kirit Parikh committee, an official said Saturday.

NTPC plans 1,000 MW thermal power plant in Gujarat

Gandhinagar,

Gandhinagar, March 20 IANS) The National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd (NTPC) will set up a 1,000 MW coal-based thermal power station at Khambat in Gujarat's Anand district at a cost of Rs.5,000 crore.

Singapore to import fruits, vegetables from Andhra

Hyderabad, March 20

Singapore President S.R. Nathan Saturday agreed in principle to import fruits and vegetables from Andhra Pradesh, the chief minister's office said.

Golden Chariot luxury train arrives in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram, March 20

In a boost to the tourism sector in Kerala, the Karnataka-based Golden Chariot, one of India's luxury trains, pulled into the railway station here Saturday.

Enter Your Name and Email below and Post your comment
Name	Email:
Comment:

Please login to use this service
Usermame :
Password :
Quick signup \| Forgot Password