I have drawn red lines for Budget: P Chidambaram
high growth. We hope to be able to repeat what we achieved between 2004 and 2009. And India is open, competitive, and it's a place to do business," he said.
To a question about what the mistakes were, he said there was an opinion now that the third stimulus package given to the industry could have been avoided.
"There is also a view that guidelines could have been written in a different way. Again, that is the benefit of hindsight. I am not saying there were mistakes. All I am
pointing out there is a perception that we may have we may have made some mistakes. And if that is the perception, it is my duty to correct that perception," Chidambaram said.
He did not agree with the questioner that FII inflows into stock markets are volatile. Giving figures, he said net FII inflow has shown a secular rise.
"So it tends to remain for the long term. Therefore I think while FDI has a higher priority, I don't see any reason why we should be worried about FII money in equity. As far as the Indian experience is concerned, there's been a secular increase, cumulatively, over the years. So I would welcome both FDI and FII in equity," he said.
