Arun Jaitley (L) listens to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan during a financial stability development council meeting in Mumbai June 7, 2014.
India's economic growth cannot be compromised at any cost, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said at a pre-budget meeting, adding the government must also contain inflation and concentrate on fiscal consolidation.
Asia's third-largest economy grew 4.7 percent in 2013/14, marking the second straight year of sub-5 percent growth, the longest slowdown in more than a quarter of a century.
Investors are keenly awaiting Mr Jaitley's first budget, due in early July, to see whether he will stick to a strict path of fiscal consolidation laid out be his predecessor or boost spending to revive the economy.
"Mandate of 2014, clearly spells out that economic growth cannot be compromised at any cost and is sine quo non to reap the benefits of the demographic dividend," he said in a speech to state finance minister posted on his Facebook page.
© Thomson Reuters 2014