Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has hinted that the Budget for 2013-14 would emphasise on fiscal consolidation, slashing waste, and promoting investments.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) meeting in Tokyo, Chidambaram said that the government was committed to fiscal correction as ratings agencies have threatened to downgrade India's rating status to junk.

Chidambaram - who was appointed in August to perk up Asia's third-biggest economy - said, "We must have a budget that emphasises fiscal consolidation and incentivises savings, promotes investment and cuts out wasteful expenditure."

However, the finance minister added that focus on reducing expenses would not hurt government's important social welfare programmes.

He also said that the government has already taken steps to provide a big boost to the economy by opening sectors like multi-retail and aviation to foreign investors, and stressed that it was now Reserve bank of India's (RBI's) turn to take action.

The RBI has not cut interest rates since April due to high inflation rate. Recent fuel price hikes are expected to inflate inflationary woes in coming months.

After enjoying a robust growth rate of around 10 per cent before the global financial crisis, the growth slipped close to 5 per cent in the recent quarters, thanks to years of policy inertia.