Global uncertainty impacting several areas, factored into policymaking, says Sitharaman

Sitharaman presented her ninth Budget on February 1.

Global uncertainty is impacting several areas and is being factored into policymaking on a continuous basis, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on February 1, adding that the government is “seized of” such risks, including pressures on the rupee.

“Global uncertainty is something which definitely occupies the minds of the officials when we are preparing the Union Budget, but I would not attribute it to the cause for one step,” the finance minister said. “Across the board we kept it in mind. But it wasn’t the cause for one thing we did or didn’t do.”

Sitharaman presented her ninth Budget on February 1.

Nirmala Sitharaman said India has done everything within the country to ensure that its domestic macroeconomic fundamentals are sound, even as the global environment remains uncertain.

“Our domestic macroeconomic fundamentals are strong, but we are facing a world which is uncertain,” she said.

Referring to movements in the rupee against the US dollar, the finance minister said that when currency issues arise, they are influenced by global developments rather than domestic factors.

“When Indian rupee versus dollar becomes an issue, you have done everything within the country to make sure your fundamentals are fine, but uncertainty globally is affecting on many grounds,” she said.

She added that global uncertainty is being factored into policymaking on a continuous basis and not linked to any single decision or action.

“We are seized of it for everything we do and not for just one particular thing,” Sitharaman said.