New Delhi - India has hiked its expenditure for defence by over 19 per cent in view of the security situation arising after the Mumbai terrorist attacks, according to the interim budget presented in parliament Monday.

"The Mumbai attacks have given a new dimension to cross-border terrorism," acting Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said while presenting the budget. A security threshold had been crossed with these attacks, he added.

New Delhi, Feb 16 : Despite the global financial crisis, which began in 2007 impacting most emerging market economies, 7.1 per cent rate of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in the current year makes India the second fastest growing economy in the world.

The fallout of global slowdown on Indian economy were countered with fiscal stimulus packages announced in December 2008 and January 2009 providing tax relief to boost demand and increasing expenditure on public projects.

New Delhi - Share markets plunged by about 3 per cent as India's United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government presented an interim budget in parliament Monday which doubled budgetary deficits and predicted difficult times ahead.

Acting federal Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, while presenting the budget, said the move was inevitable in view of the slowing of the economy due to the global economic downturn.

Hyderabad, Feb 15 : Home Minister P. Chidambaram has said that the next financial year would be tough for the Indian economy, but a turnaround should come in October.

"The first two quarter will indeed be difficult. The turnaround should come some time in October 2009, or little thereafter," he said at a meeting after inaugurating a branch of the Union Bank of India in Hyderabad on Saturday.

The ongoing global financial crisis, becoming grimmer day by day, can adversely hit India's foreign direct investment target of USD 35 billion for the FY09. Lowering the earlier estimates, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said on Thursday that India can mange to get FDI worth USD 30 billion foreign investment under uncertain conditions of financial world.

Mr. Nath said that government would not change 49 percent cap for foreign direct investment in single-brand retail.

The Indian economic system will grow by 7% during the existing fiscal even as latest projections by worldwide agencies like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated that the economies of developing countries would shrink by 2%.

This was stated by Union External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee at the 81st annual general meeting of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

Speaking on this, Mr. Pranad said, “I am proud to say that in 2008-09 India will still grow by 7 per cent.”