Jalan showcases strong economy

NEW DELHI: RBI governor Bimal Jalan today sought to reassure the NRI community about the strength of the Indian economy. Citing soft interest rates, low price level and an all-time high forex kitty, he reiterated that the economy was set to grow at 5-5.5% this year.He said the overall macroeconomic management has protected the economy from severe financial crises that characterised many other countries during the past decade.
He said that in India, the endeavour has been to ensure a climate of stability for the financial services industry in the form of low inflation, a benign interest rate regime, a healthy and resilient balance of payments, sustainable external debt and the seventh largest stock of forex reserves, sufficient to meet current and contingent liabilities.
The governor, however, added that the country has to be on guard all the time and there was no place for complacency on the economic front.
He also stressed that India remained one of the safest markets in the world. Although Jalan declined to elaborate on the interest rate outlook, he said the rates were “soft�.