New Delhi, July 11 (ANI): Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday said that the government would resort to more borrowings to increase ‘public expenditure’ for a higher economic growth.

The minister said this while addressing the Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India here in the national capital on Saturday.

“Obviously I choose to come back to the path of our growth trajectory. And as the private investment cannot be expected to meet the full requirement in immediate time, that’s why it was decided to step up the public expenditure and it had to be depended heavily on larger borrowing, but we will manage it with the cooperation and support and competence of RBI,” Pranab Mukherjee said.

“There should not be any apprehension that private sector would be crowded out. We will meet requirements of the private sector from the market and government borrowing will be managed in such a manner that there is no deception in the market in favour of government’s borrowings,” he added.

Earlier on July 2, the finance ministry had said that growth could rise to 7 percent this year — towards the high end of the range of private forecasts — and subsequently increase to 8.5 to 9 percent if the government adopted sweeping reforms and accelerated infrastructure development.

The government had slashed factory duties and stepped up public spending to pump the economy as the growth rate tripped to 6.7 percent in 2008-09 from 9 percent or more seen in the previous three years. (ANI)