The Finance Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee has said that timely and pro-active monetary and fiscal measures have ensured that the growth process remain intact despite the adverse impact of global financial crisis. He was chairing the meeting of Parliamentary Consultative Committee attached to the Finance Ministry, here today. Shri Mukherjee briefed the members about the state of the economy before inviting suggestions from the Members of the Committee for formulation of General Budget 2010-11. The Finance Minister stated that the adverse impact of the global financial crisis and the subsequent recessionary trend in the major economies of the world had cast a cloud of uncertainty over the domestic economy in the second half of 2008-09. However, the policy measures undertaken by the Government have worked and the macro-economic situation confirms signs of a turn-around for the economy. The Finance Minister informed the members that the Government will continue discussions to get inputs on the major tax reforms viz., Direct Taxes Code and Goods and Service Tax. Members present in the meeting gave various suggestions and thanked the Minister for consulting the representatives of people to formulate General Budget. Ministers of State for Finance, Shri S.S. Palanimanickam and Shri Namo Narain Meena were present in the meeting which was attended by S/Shri Shantaram Naik, Sabir Ali, N.K. Singh, A. Vijayaraghavan, Rajiv Shukla, Rajkumar Dhoot, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Tarik Anwar and Dr. E. M. Sudarsana Natchiappan, - Members of Rajya Sabha and S/Shri Mukesh B. Gadhvi, T.R. Baalu, Anto P. Antony, Jayant Chaudhary, Narhari Mahato and Smt. Rajkumari Ratna Singh, - Members of Lok Sabha. Finance Secretary, Revenue Secretary, Expenditure Secretary, Disinvestment secretary, Secretary, Financial Services and other senior officers of the ministry also attended the meeting.

Budget consultations: Government seeks inputs on Direct Taxes Code and GST to inform general budget formulation. Consultations to inform the general budget solicited stakeholder suggestions and advanced key tax reform projects. The Finance Minister convened the Parliamentary Consultative Committee to invite inputs for budgetary priorities and fiscal policy, noting stabilising effects of recent monetary and fiscal measures. The Government indicated continued engagement on major tax reforms, specifically the Direct Taxes Code and Goods and Service Tax, as integral to the budget planning process.