Will 'bite the bullet' in budget to reduce subsidies: PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said that they would bite the bullet when it came to reducing subsidies and would try to take along all the allies in the coalition when taking hard decisions.

“We have to bite the bullet and there no other way but to reduce subsidies,” Singh said in an interview on Doordarshan.

The Finance Minister has pointed the need to control subsidies and has said he will bring it to less than 1.7% of GDP in next three years, he said.

He acknowledged that there had been compulsions to managing a coalition government when asked about political ally Trinamool Congress opposing reform plans like hiking diesel prices.

“There have been difficulties but if the government is to govern it must have a sustainable strategy to manage the economy,” he said, adding that that the government hoped to have all its allies on board when it had to take tough decisions.

Asked about the Finance Minister’s plans to ensure that subsidies are directly delivered to those who need them most, Singh said that the Aadhar scheme to provide unique identification numbers was going on and would continue despite controversies.

“There are controversies in these things all over the world, but we have begun well and we will use technology to cut out wastages and leakages in the public distribution system,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that there was a general agreement to have nutrient based subsidies for fertilisers.

“But it was felt that when prices internationally for urea were increasing, we have to move slowly towards desubsidising. And there’s no other way, even if it may not be very popular,” he said.

Singh said that he believed the biggest achievement of the United Progressive Alliance-led was protecting the growth rate of the Indian economy despite global conditions being unconducive.

“This year it (growth rate) again slipped but the aim is to again to get it back to 8- 9 percent. That is the path the government has taken,” the Prime Minister said, adding that the government was committed to a faster, equitable and sustainable growth path for the country.