Pranab for Prez, Manmohan for FM: Will it revive mkts?

If present finance minister Pranab Mukherjee were to become the President of India, then how about having current Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the Finance Minister? This strictly "personal" thought and somewhat "crazy" idea occurred to Pankaj Vaish, Citi's MD & Head of Markets, South Asia. "It would be something the market would really be excited about," Vaish said in an exclusive interview to CNBC-TV18. But for the market to load itself on a growth trajectory or to witness a convincing new high, political clarity and fiscal relief is must.

Singh, credited for pushing the country towards a market economy, served as finance minister in 1991 when India's fiscal deficit was at 8.5% of the GDP. Vaish appears to put his uninhibited faith in Dr Singh's craft when he says "he (Dr Singh) has pulled India out before in 1991 and can probably do wonders in if he were focused on that ministry."

Click here to read full transcript of the interview

For the uninitiated, India's rising fiscal deficit has been a disturbing element. In fiscal year 2011-12, the country's fiscal deficit stood at 5.9% of GDP. It is estimated at 5.1% of GDP by March'13 and rating agency S&P had indicated it as a mild negative for India's sovereign debt rating.

(This story was first published on May 29)