Budget to address slippages in economy: Pranab

Concerned over declining growth rate in the current fiscal, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said that he will address the slippages in economic parameters in the upcoming Budget.

"As I set about preparing the Union Budget for the next year, I have to take stock of the developments in the past months and find ways to address the slippages, the gaps and building on outcomes that need to be consolidated in the ensuing years," he said at 84th annual general meeting of Ficci.

Warning that the months ahead are difficult, he said the growth rate could fall below 7.5 per cent in the current financial year from 8.5 per cent a year ago.

"We have difficult last quarter ahead of us in this fiscal year. Our growth for 2011-12 may be around 7.5 per cent or less...I must confess, at this point in the year, I find myself in much the same situation," he said.

There are also concerns on the central government finances for the current fiscal, he said, adding, performance during the first half on the fiscal front poses some risks in both receipts as well as expenditure estimates.

"Adhering to the fiscal deficit target of 4.6 per cent of GDP in 2011-12 is a major challenge," he said.

The government proposes to bring down the fiscal deficit in the current fiscal to 4.6 per cent of the GDP from 4.7 per cent a year ago. However, the surge in subsidy bill and poor realisation from disinvestment has made the task difficult.