India's finance minister promises to put economy back on high growth path with new budget

NEW DELHI – India's finance minister has unveiled a national budget with a promise to put Asia's third largest economy back on a path of high growth and to check runaway inflation and the fiscal deficit.

Palaniappan Chidambaram told Parliament on Thursday that the country was facing a current account deficit crisis due to huge imports of oil, coal and gold and a slowdown in exports.

He says attracting foreign investment is crucial to stemming India's economic slowdown and getting the nation back to fiscal health.

He said the government had no choice but to cut spending.