NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The finance ministry delivered a report on the state of the economy on Wednesday, a day before Finance Minister P. Chidambaram unveils what is expected to be the most austere federal budget in years.
The annual report was prepared by Raghuram Rajan, the former chief economist to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) who became the top adviser in the finance ministry last year.
Following are highlights of the report:
* India's GDP growth seen at 6.1-6.7 pct in 2013/14
* India's headline inflation may decline to 6.2-6.6 pct by March
* Prioritisation of expenditure seen as key ingredient of credible medium-term fiscal consolidation plan
* Raising tax to GDP ratio to more than 11 pct seen critical for sustaining fiscal consolidation
(Compiled by Matthias Williams and Anurag Kotoky)