There's enough for two years' oil

Finance Minister Jaswant Singh has said the country will be able to meet its oil needs because it has the forex buffer to meet around two years' imports.

The minister was talking to reporters Friday in the context of the warning held out by the US to Iraq, fuelling the prospect of another war.

"Our reserves front is so comfortable, we won't even feel the pinch of it. We can manage for more than two years," Singh said.

He said he had no magical solution to fiscal problems. While the tax collections, including the third installment of advance corporate tax by December 15, had been excellent, Singh said he was unable to say if the budget targets would be met.

Corporate tax collections had grown 30 per cent, personal income tax 12 per cent, excise 19 per cent and Customs 11 per cent, senior finance ministry officials said.

Singh also pointed out that the revenue department had paid the highest ever refunds in October. "Refunds which are due must be paid by the Government," he said, adding in a lighter vein that he also received Rs 6,000 as refunds from the department in November.

Painting a rosy picture of the economy, Singh said: "There is greater confidence and optimism and a firmer commitment to growth than I could foresee when I took charge in July."

He said the finance ministry was geared to provide the leadership needed to manage the country's new generation of growth.

The minister said the reports of the Kelkar task forces on taxes, the Naresh Chandra committee on corporate-auditor relations and the laws enacted during the current session of Parliament would be the "building blocks" for the next Budget. "All this is good preparation for the work that lies ahead in January and February," Singh said.

The minister said the finance ministry had not gone back on its statements made in the mid-year review. The review had asked for rationalisation of subsidies and alignment of interest rates with market rates.

"Governance is all about balancing just and equally valid concerns," Singh said, justifying the higher interest rate on deposits he promised for widows, pensioners and senior citizens.

He said there was an urgent need to introduce pension reforms, adding that the government's Pension Bill would soon overtake its Wage Bill. Singh, however, admitted that India did not have a welfare mechanism. "I cannot invent a welfare state overnight either," he said.

The minister also said he was hopeful that the Centre and the States would be able to agree on retiring high-cost debt of about Rs 30,000 crore (Rs 300 billion) this fiscal.

He also said he had circulated a note for debt swap to the chief ministers which would be considered at the meeting of the National Development Council.

He expressed satisfaction at the record nine Bills that had been cleared by Parliament in this session and said the ministry was now in a position to provide leadership to the country in the new generation of growth.