Economy

If PM Modi got a strong mandate, government could even consider selling majority stakes in some of the state-owned banks, the official said.

The trade deficit in 2018, according to Chinese official data, climbed to $57.86 billion from $51.72 billion in 2017 in about $95.54 total bilateral trade.

Especially in borrower countries like Greece and Argentina, the IMF still gets portrayed as an enforcer of one-size-fits-all policies based on austerity and the unimpeded flow of goods and money.

The International Monetary Fund in its January World Economy Outlook update on Monday said India would remain the fastest growing major economies of the world.

The country is currently witnessing a low inflation period but the lowering food prices mean weakening rural incomes and rural demand.

The government, which has already exceeded the annual budget deficit target, has little room for spending in the current year, having forgone some tax revenue on goods and services following the defeat.

The competitive populism is hitting the capital spending and state finances, the chief economist of India Ratings and Research has said.

While negative real rates might be considered a sign of financial instability, a high inflation-adjusted benchmark interest rate is, on balance, a reason for central bankers to consider a looser policy stance.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will return from the United States to present the interim budget, top government sources told NDTV. The finance minister had earlier this month gone to the US for treatment, leading to speculation that he might not be able to present the budget this year. The government is due to present the budget, an interim one - the last before general election due by May, on February 1, 2019. Mr Jaitley has gone to the US for a "regular medical check-up" following a kidney transplant last year.

According to PwC, the global economy is expected to slow in 2019 as G7 countries return to long-run average growth rates.

To boost air connectivity in the country, Mr Prabhu said 100 new airports will come up in the near future with a cumulative investment of $65 billion.

In the last fiscal, total disinvestment proceeds came in at Rs 1 lakh crore, exceeding the budgeted target of Rs 72,500 crore, the report added.

The country's top business groups on Thursday urged the central bank to cut its benchmark interest rate by at least half a percentage point.

Convention demands that the outgoing administration present only an interim budget to secure parliament's approval for expenses for a part of the financial year starting April until a new government is in place.

The RBI's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) kept the repo rate unchanged last month at 6.50 per cent.