Union Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee ruled out any immediate hike in interest rates in near future despite high public expenditure and consequent heavy market borrowing by the government. The central government is already undertaking debt management plans to control widening fiscal deficit.

Mr. Mukherjee said, "I have already spoken to the board of directors of RBI. We shall do debt management in such a way that interest rates will not go up."

The minister was speaking in a function held by SBI in Jangipur to simultaneously inaugurate 154 branches and 2151 ATMs of SBI across the country.

There is a sense of uncertainty in corporate circles and a section of bankers that government may increase interest rates in the back drop of its move to borrow Rs 4.51 lakh crore from the market in 2009-2010. Government has borrowed Rs 3 lakh crore from the market last year and it is forced to borrow more as global slowdown adversely hit its revenue.