Addressing industry leaders here, Mr Mukherjee said he was aware of the opposition to GST from various state governments and that he had discussed the proposal with state finance ministers. “Just as VAT was introduced in states gradually, probably even GST will have to be enforced in a similar fashion,” the minister said, adding that he would persuade all states to adopt GST from April next year.

Addressing concerns over the high fiscal deficit target of 6.8% set by the budget, Mr Mukherjee said the government has taken a calculated risk to stimulate growth and would strive hard to bring it down to 4% by financial year 2011-12. “A single budget cannot solve all the problems. The global economic slowdown is likely to continue in the current financial year, but we must come back to growth path as fast as possible,” he said.

Justifying the spending plans for the current year, Mr Mukherjee said the government was willing to pay a price to ensure that Indian industry remained competitive. The motive was to inject more money into the economy to boost demand for goods and services. “We are deviating from the FRBM target, but it’s a conscious decision,” he said.

On the performance of infrastructure projects, the finance minister said there was a proposal to set up a high-powered infrastructure committee, which will monitor the progress of crucial projects on a regular basis. “The PM will head the committee, which is likely to be a sub-committee of the National Development Council,” Mr Mukherjee said, adding power companies should expedite work on projects.

Mr Mukherjee said there was a case for looking into the demands of the hospitality industry, which had sought tax breaks and infrastructure status. “There is a case. Let me revisit it. I will look into the case in consultations with others,” the minister said. He also ruled out any roll back of the stimulus measures announced earlier by the government.

The FM also said the government’s objective is to return to a high growth rate as soon as possible and that it has decided to invest in areas like rural infrastructure and agriculture as these would give the desired growth rates in a shorter span of time. Suggesting measures for the agriculture sector, Ficci president Harsh Pati Singhania said, "The government can increase crop yields by bringing private sector investment in agricultural extension including soil and water conservation."