At the inauguration of the 29th plenary session of the Indian National Trade Union Congress on Saturday, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee expressed the opinion that the economy will likely perform better during the remaining part of the ongoing fiscal.

Saying that there would be sufficient food stocks in the country, Mukherjee asserted that the public need not panic on the escalating prices.

Noting that the rate of growth of the economy in the first quarter of the fiscal was 6.1 percent, the Finance Minister said that the expectations that the economy would do better were based on some clear indications. He said: “Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) have substantially increased in the first three months. Industrial production has gone up by two per cent in July.  

Mukherjee also dispelled the hearsay pertaining to the supposed government move of privatization of all public sector units. Rebuffing the rumors as a mere propaganda, Mukherjee added that the government was not planning any such move.

About the government’s recent divestment in two public sector units - Oil India Limited, and National Hydroelectric Power Corporation - had resulted in a multi-fold increase in their share prices.

Furthermore, adding that the government does not intend reducing its stake in the profit-making public sector units, Mukherjee reiterated: “The policy of the government is clear. It is to strengthen the public sector enterprises.”