New Delhi -- India's finance minister, in his fiscal 2009 budget, Monday called for a speedy return to 9 percent growth but investors sold off amid concerns about deficits.
In presenting the 2009-10 budget to Parliament, Pranab Mukherjee said the first challenge is to "lead the economy" back to 9 percent growth" at the earliest."
The budget, the first since the Congress-led coalition of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was returned to power in May, was more focused on rural development, considered critical for growth.
Although India's economy grew by 6.7 percent in the year ended this March despite the global decline, Economic Times reported it was the lowest since 2003 and down from 9 percent a year earlier.
