Govt unlikely to meet disinvestment target: Finance Secretary TV Somanathan

'I don't expect a huge uptick in inflation. I think it will remain within the 4 to 5 per cent band', said Somanathan

The Budget is being made in the context of an economy that is rapidly recovering from the effects of the pandemic to one which could now be back to pre-Covid levels, Finance Secretary T V Somanathan told Shrimi Choudhary in an exclusive interaction. Somanathan spoke about the implications of the Cairn settlement, disinvestment target, LIC IPO, fertiliser subsidy and more. Edited excerpts:   

What’s going to be the theme of the upcoming Union Budget?

I can't talk about the theme as it has to be picked by the government as a whole not by the finance secretary. I can tell