RBI decisions are non-package: BJP

Mumbai: Dismissing the decisions announced by Reserve Bank India (RBI) today, BJP criticised Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and the central bank saying that the action would not boost the sagging economy.

"The government had raised the tempo and created an atmosphere (of expectation) that it will take a slew of measures which will give new direction to the sagging economy," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said here. However, nothing came in the announcement today, he said.

"The four announcements made by RBI and Finance Ministry are a non-package. People were expecting a real package but the government has given non-package," he said. The BJP leader said that even the market`s response was negative. The purpose was to arrest the slide of rupee, but the slide continues, he said. "In last one year rupee has slumped by 30 per cent," Javadekar said. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had failed in taming the inflation, he said. The BJP spokesperson also said that Foreign Direct Investment was needed in infrastructure and science and technology, but not in the retail sector.

To arrest the fall of rupee, RBI today increased FII limit in government bonds to USD 20 billion, and allowed up to USD 10 billion in overseas borrowings by Indian corporates for refinancing rupee loans. Long term investors such as Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs), multilateral agencies, endowment funds, insurance funds, pension funds and foreign central banks would be allowed to invest in government debts up to USD 20 billion, RBI said in a notification.