The Wholesale Price Index is low in 2009-10 and one did not see any problem except oil prices which could affect it, a senior Parliamentarian said.
"This year (2009-10), our WPI is low and I don't see any problem on the horizon which could destabilise us except oil prices which remain a question," Rajya Sabha MP and former Reserve Bank Governor Bimal Jalan told reporters in Mumbai on Wednesday.
On the high fiscal deficit, Jalan said he did not think stimulus packages posed a problem.
"I don't think it is a question of stimulus. At the moment, the question is essentially if you were to reduce the fiscal deficit, you will be reducing things that the country needs like capex. You cannot reduce food, oil or fertiliser subsidies or other programmes -- it won't be desirable," he said.
On taxation, the Rajya Sabha MP said it would not be good for the country not to have a reasonable rate of tax on profit and dividend.
Speaking about the change in RBI rates, Jalan said the change in rates would not have the same kind of impact on the final rate as it used to in earlier days when the spreads were lower.
Earlier, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia told reporters that the fiscal deficit was not a concern. He said that even in the US it was as high as 11 per cent.
"The government is hopeful of controlling it (India's fiscal deficit)," he said.
