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Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said drawing any conclusions on the basis of monsoon predictions on inflation or some kind of distress situation is far-fetched.
Referring to various analysis on the advance monsoon predictions, Jaitley said that they are speculative in nature and hence misplaced.
In an interaction with the media, he said that foodgrain production will not to be impacted by poor monsoon and that adequate stocks are available.
He said that a slight inadequacy if at all, is in north west and that a large part of north west has substantial irrigation facilities. Met Dept’s forecasts say monsoon is normal In south, central & northeast, said Jaitley
"I had called some senior scientists from the Meteorological Department, had a detailed analysis of their prediction and estimates," he said.
Jaitley also sought to allay fears of the resultant impact on the economy and said that quantum of capital expenditure is likely to see a major increase in the coming months.
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The finance minister also dismissed fears of foreign investors exiting Indian markets and said that 'a day or two' of reaction in the market cannot define the trend.
The government will press on with its plan to sell stakes in state firms, he said.
The government aims to raise nearly $11 billion from asset sales in the fiscal year that began in April.
However, a recent sell-off in equity markets, on worries about the health of Asia's third-largest economy as well as concerns the central bank would no longer cut interest rates this year, is threatening the asset sales programme
