New Delhi, Mar 4: Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram today said that there is a scope for reducing interest rates and deficits.

He was speaking at an interactive session on the Union Budget at the National Council meeting of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here today.

Chidambaram however, cautioned that interest rates were the most effective tool to contain inflation and there is a need to have growth with reasonable price stability.

The Finance Minister said that the final authority on reducing interest rates was the Reserve Bank of India.

New Delhi, Mar 4 : Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram today said that banks in India lost about Rs 1,078 crore due to frauds, including credit card frauds, in 2007.

"While the total number of frauds as reported by banks is increasing, there is a reduction in the total amount involved over the last three years," Chidambaram told the Rajya Sabha.

In reply to a question raised by Shobhana Bhartia and Prof Alka Balram Kshatriya on rising economic offences in banks, he said the number of bank frauds have gone up from 12,374 in 2005 to 22,280 in 2007.

New Delhi: Over the last several months, textile exporters have been hit har