Parliament has approved the Appropriation Bill and the Finance Bill for 2012 with the Rajya Sabha returning them on Wednesday. The Lok Sabha had passed them last week.

Replying to the discussion in the Rajya Sabha, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee hinted that the government will take certain austerity measures to ensure fiscal consolidation. The Finance Minister said that these measures are needed in view of the international situation. At the same time, Mr Mukherjee said he is not pressing the panic button. He said the word of caution is only aimed at conveying a signal to all.

He made it clear that the success of India's growth story will not come to an end. He also underlined the need for speedy implementation of cost and time-overrun projects.

Referring to the green revolution in the Eastern States, Mr Mukherjee said an additional seven million tonnes of rice has been added to the country's buffer stock, inviting appreciation from the world community. He said it happened due to the collective effort. He thanked the farming community and scientists for this. Mr Mukherjee admitted that there is a problem of storage of the record food production of 253 million tonnes. He underlined that the government has expanded the storage capacity network by more than 70 million tonnes.

During his hour-long reply, Mr Mukherjee admitted pilferages in implementing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). He said although the payment of minimum wages to the agriculture workers could not be implemented earlier, the goal has been achieved with the implementation of the flagship programme.

Referring to fiscal consolidation, the Finance Minister said despite growing subsidies, the Indian economy is within less than 2 per cent of its GDP growth. Mr Mukherjee was confident that the GDP growth will be around 7.5 per cent. He sought the cooperation of all sections to strengthen the national economy.