No issue on farm loan waiver, says Nath

NEW DELHI: Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath on Tuesday said he has no reservations on the loan waiver package for farmers announced in the Union Budget and has 'congratulated' Finance Minister P Chidambaram for this measure.

He said the government needs to work out an effective mechanism for implementation of the Rs 60,000 crore loan waiver package for farmers.

"Of course I welcome it (the package)," Nath said when asked whether he had some reservations on debt waiver.

"There is no issue, I congratulated the Finance Minister and the Prime Minister for such a step. But we must formulate a mechanism for its execution which the Finance Minister is doing," he said.

However, Nath met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and briefed him about the problems being faced by exporters on account of a sharp rise in rupee value.

Asked whether he was happy with the Budget proposals relating to the export sector, Nath said it was not merely a Budget issue.

"It is an ongoing process. With the rupee appreciation, Indian exporters are feeling concerned about lack of competitiveness in global market," he said.

He said exports have grown at double the pace of the GDP growth and 'we are concerned about the sector, especially about the labour intensive sectors,' he said.

The exporters' organisations like the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) have expressed disappointment over absence of specific measures in the Budget for the distressed export sector.