'PC' IN MUMBAI: Finance Minister P Chidambaram's two-day trip to Mumbai, the financial capital of the country, was as much to calm the jittery stock market as it was an exercise in pre-budget consultations.

Chidambaram met with almost every section of economic community: brokers, the stock market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India, bankers, foreign institutional investors and domestic institutional investors.

Apart from listening to their demands and suggestions he had only one message for them: the new government is committed to economic reforms and will take the Indian economy to new heights.



Chidambaram spelt out his government's objectives by saying that it would "place India on a growth path of 7-8 per cent."

"All this will be done subject to fiscal prudence and financial discipline," he said. On June 2, Chidambaram met with broking houses and bankers apart from SEBI.

Photos: Jewella C Miranda | Text: Priya Ganapati and Syed Firdaus Ashraf

Also see: 10 great reasons to invest in India