Parliament on Thursday gave its seal of approval to the Finance Bill 2011 with the Rajya Sabha returning it after a four-hour discussion. With this the curtain on budgetary exercise has come down.

Replying to the discussion, the Finance Minister expressed confidence that the country will attain a 9 per cent GDP growth in the next fiscal.

This, he said, will be possible provided the present trend of domestic savings continues moving upwards with inflation under control. Mr Pranab Mukherjee asserted that all possible measures will be taken for fiscal consolidation. He said the country will have to manage its economy within its own means.

Underlining his optimism for a sustained growth, Mr Mukherjee cited the success of the Central flagship programme — Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). He said this programme has generated jobs on a massive scale in rural areas of the country.

But, at the same time, he cautioned about the possible repercussions on the world economy following tsunami and earthquake in Japan and the growing political uncertainty in West Asia.

Speaking about food security, Mr Mukherjee said the pilot project on pulse production in 60 thousand villages has helped add 15 lakh tonnes to the food kitty, raising its total output to 60 lakh tonnes this year. To a specific question, the Finance Minister said it is difficult to predict any time frame to control inflation.