Modi wants to spend $393 billion in fiscal 2015

NEW DELHI - Declaring that "India is about to take off," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday unveiled a fiscal 2015 budget calling for 17.77 trillion rupees (S$393 billion) in spending. It is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first full fiscal year Budget.

The Modi government expects India's economy to grow at a robust 8 per cent to 8.5 per cent during the fiscal year. For the current fiscal year through the end of this month, the growth rate is estimated at 7.4 per cent.

"When other countries are facing serious challenges, India is about to take off on a faster growth trajectory," Jaitley said in his budget speech to parliament.

Jaitley also called declining inflation one of the Modi government's major achievements. In November 2013, consumer prices in India were rising at an 11.2 per cent clip. This past November the rate had fallen to 4.4 per cent. In December, it edged down to 4.28 per cent.

Modi took office last May.

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