Diesel price will be hiked in due course: Gopalan

Outgoing economic affairs secretary R Gopalan today said that a diesel price hike is a political decision that would be taken in due course. In an exclusive interview with CNBC-TV18's Siddharth Zarabi on his last day in the finance ministry, Gopalan also said the centre would need the budget deficit projection for current fiscal year.

Here is an edited transcript. Q: What is your view on the fiscal deficit?
A: These decisions are taken at the right time. We should be in a position to ensure that these decisions are in a position to reduce the fiscal deficit at the same time ensure that acceptability across the wider political spectrum also takes place. So, this is in a sense a decision which is both political and economic in nature. Q: There was a lot of criticism which you had yourself described as unwarranted at that point of time which is with regard to the credibility of the government's fiscal numbers that were presented in Budget 2012-13. We are now a few months down the line, do you think that criticisms if at all if it were to continue is warranted.
A: Navratnas have happened subsequently. The crude prices have come down in the international markets, so the average or the weighted average price of Indian basket of crude also has gone down. Commodity prices have also come down. Whatever we gained in something perhaps because of monsoon, we may also have to spend little bit more on lack of employment-oriented programmes. It is balance, but it is too early to say at this point in time how this balance will pan out. Today I do have the hope that we can stick to those numbers, whatever we have projected in the budget. Q: What about government borrowing?
A: Government borrowing stay where they are at this point in time and only after September in the month of October an assessment of what the position is will be made and then second half borrowing numbers will be worked out. So, until today, there is no hiccup in the borrowings.