Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said that hard decisions cannot be delayed anymore as the Indian economy is facing tough times. Addressing an award function in New Delhi yesterday, Mr Mukherjee said, it is easier said than done as the government needs to consider so many issues, so many constraints in the process of decision making.

The Finance Minister said, while government borrowing is rising, industrial activity has slowed down, impacting revenue collection. He said, fiscal deficit has widened to a worrying 5.9 per cent of the GDP and a shooting oil import bill is compounding the problem.