Shri Arun Jaitley, Hon’ble Minister of Finance addressed the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India at its Office in New Delhi today. Explaining the rationale underlying the Union Budget 2016-17, the Hon’ble Finance Minister said that the Budget is guided by the ground situation rather than populism. The key factors of the Budget were maintaining rural focus with an emphasis on asset creation; stepping up of capital expenditure on railways, rural roads, national highways; duty modifications to help manufacturing; and continuing with reforms agenda.
The Board complimented the Finance Minister on the Budget, especially the focus on strengthening agriculture, on public investment, on structural reforms in the social sector and on maintaining the fiscal consolidation path.
The Union Finance Minister was addressing the customary post-Budget meeting of the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India held in New Delhi today. He was accompanied by Shri Jayant Sinha, Minister of State, Finance. The Government nominee directors on the Central Board Shri Shaktikanta Das, Secretary (Economic Affairs) and Smt. Anjuly Chib Duggal, Secretary (Financial Services) were also present. The meeting was also attended by Shri Neeraj Kumar Gupta, Secretary (Disinvestment) and Dr. Arvind Subramaniam, Chief Economic Adviser. Dr. Raghuram G. Rajan, Governor of the Reserve Bank who usually chairs the Reserve Bank Board meeting, Deputy Governors Shri Harun R. Khan, Dr. Urjit R. Patel, Shri R. Gandhi and Shri S.S. Mundra attended the meeting. The other Directors of the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India present at the meeting included Dr. Nachiket Mor, Shri Y. C. Deveshwar, Prof. Damodar Acharya, Shri Natarajan Chandrasekharan, Shri Bharat Narotam Doshi, and Shri Sudhir Mankad with the last three attending for the first time. In the meeting of the Board, issues, such as, macroeconomic developments and specific areas of operations of the Reserve Bank of India were discussed.
Alpana Killawala
Principal Adviser
Press Release: 2015-2016/2150
