Economic affairs secretary Arvind Mayaram on Tuesday said that as of now, a shutdown of the US government is not likely to have a major impact on the Indian economy.
Mr Mayaram's statement comes in the backdrop of the White House ordering government agencies to begin shutting down after the Democratic-led Senate and Republican-controlled House refused to back down in a clash over scaling back President Barack Obama's landmark health care law as the price for essential federal funding.
Mr Mayaram also said that the Indian economy will grow at more than 5 per cent in the current financial year ending in March 2014.
"It cannot be less than 5 per cent," he told reporters.
India will finance its current account deficit fully in the fiscal year ending March without drawing down on its reserves, and will also contain the fiscal deficit at 4.8 per cent of GDP, he added.
Mr Mayaram added the government would not have to go beyond the finance ministry's planned market borrowing for the year, and would be able to meet its budgeted revenue target.
Economic growth will pick up in the second half of the fiscal year, he said.
India's current account deficit grew less than expected in the June quarter and is tipped to ease in coming months as a pick-up in exports and lower gold imports improve the trade balance, offering relief to the battered rupee.
The current account deficit (CAD) for the three months through June was $21.8 billion, or 4.9 per cent of gross domestic product, driven by sluggish exports and high gold imports in April and May before the government hiked tariffs on the metal to a record 10 per cent.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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