Montek Singh Ahluwalia rules out approaching IMF over economic woes

NEW DELHI: Hit by a currency crisis and poor growth, India today ruled out approaching the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for assistance, saying the economic situation has not reached a point where outside help is warranted.

Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said the RBI's forex reserves are adequate to manage the difficult situation. India's foreign exchange reserves were up at 278.602 billion USD as of August 9.

"Our current economic situation does not warrant it. I do not anticipate it in the near future," Ahluwalia said, adding "India's reserves are comfortable."

Ahluwalia was asked to comment at a news conference whether India would seek outside help like approaching the IMF for assistance against the backdrop of a wave of poor economic news for the country.

He was briefing newsmen about the upcoming summit of G20 economies that included India. The two-day summit which will be attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is to be held in St Petersburg in Russia from September 5. The Prime Minister is leaving for the eighth summit of the G20 on September 4.

India last approached the IMF for funds in 1991 during a balance of payments crisis that was considered a national embarrassment.

The rupee collapsed to a lifetime low of 68.85 against the dollar on August 28 before staging a recovery while economic growth in the April-June quarter slid to 4.4 per cent. The rupee closed at 65.70 against the dollar yesterday.

Replying to questions, Ahluwalia said there will be no "real improvement" in the Current Account Deficit(CAD) till the end of the second quarter(July-September) this year.

Government is aiming to bring down the CAD, which touched a record high of USD 88 billion or 4.8 per cent of GDP in 2012-13, to USD 70 billion or 3.7 per cent of GDP this fiscal.