Given the strong fundamentals of the Indian economy, the government on Monday expressed optimism that it would ward off the adverse impact of slowdown being faced by major trading partners through swift actions.
"The government will remain vigilant and take a quick action wherever required," Minister of State for Finance Pawan Kumar Bansal said at a function organised by Controller General of Accounts in New Delhi.
The economy, he said, must be insulated to the extent possible from potentially adverse effects of economic slowdown occurring in some of the major trading partners.
Given the general optimism prevalent in the economy and the strength of the economic fundamentals, the nation would be able to overcome these challenges, he said.
India will be impacted to some extent only through ripple effects, he said, adding, but industry have placed the country in a situation where it can weather storm.
On the managing rate of price rise, Bansal said battling inflation without sacrificing growth has been the government constant endeavour in the recent past.
In the medium and long term, he said one of the biggest challenges is to effectively sustain the high pace of growth witnessed in the recent years.
This requires development of diverse, regionally balanced, physical and social infrastructure, he said, adding, the investment requirements for infrastructure are humongous and there is need to find ways and means to mobilise these resources and complete infrastructure projects without cost or time overruns.
Bansal admitted that the robust growth in taxes in the past few years, due to high economic growth and the setting up of the Tax Information Network.
It has put economy in a comfortable position as far as revenues are concerned.
However, along with the rising revenues there has been a matching growth in expediture, he said.
The focus is now on outcomes as compared to outlays, he said, adding, the shift of focus is expected to ensure that the Budget is spent not just to exhaust the outlays but to achieve laid down outcomes.