Won't seek credit line from IMF, says Finance Ministry

NEW DELHI: The finance ministry is not considering reaching out to the International Monetary Fund to shore up its reserves, two officials told ET, even as experts weighed in favour of such a move. "It is not even on the agenda," said a finance ministry official, dismissing the suggestion that India should go to the IMF to seek a credit line for any contingency. 

"Where is the need...There is no question," another official said. 

Finance minister P Chidambaram has given out a plan to rein in the current account deficit to 3.7% of GDP and its "full and safe" financing. The government also expects that there could be accretion to forex reserves unlike in 2011-12 when there was a drawdown. The plan clearly states how India will fund its CAD with specifics. 

World Bank chief economist Kaushik Basu, who a year ago was chief economic advisor to the government, also did not see any need to knock the door's of IMF, which is considered a sort of stigma not just in India but everywhere. "I don't think that we are in a situation where there is any need for that," Basu told reporters in Delhi when asked whether India should seek a credit line from the IMF. "India has enough foreign exchange reserves, so the question of having to turn to the IMF is not there." 

He pointed that when India went for a credit line in 1991, its reserves could finance imports for just a fortnight and the situation is a lot different now. 

Bollywood's Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has baby girl

Nov 16 (Reuters) - Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has given birth to a baby girl, her husband Abhishek Bachchan announced on Twitter on Wednesday.

While the baby's father just said "it's a girl", her proud grandfather Amitabh Bachchan -- a veteran actor and head of Bollywood's most famous family -- could barely contain his joy.

"I AM DADA (grandfather) to the cutest baby girl!!" the 69-year-old Bachchan tweeted.

No further details were immediately available.

Rai, 38, a former Miss World, has been married to actor Abhishek Bachchan for more than four years and the star couple had been fending off baby rumours for months before the pregnancy was confirmed in June.

The Bollywood actress had been expected to give birth to her first child in November, and the Indian media followed her pregnancy obsessively.

She was admitted to a Mumbai hospital on Monday night.

Rai, who often features on "most beautiful" lists, won the Miss World crown in 1994. She went on to build a successful Bollywood career with hits such as "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam" and "Devdas".

She has also worked in Hollywood films such as "The Pink Panther 2" and is a regular at the Cannes film festival.

This is the third grandchild for Amitabh Bachchan. His daughter Shweta has two children.

It’s a girl for Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

(Reuters) - Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has given birth to a baby girl, her husband Abhishek Bachchan announced on Twitter on Wednesday.

While the baby's father just said "it's a girl", her proud grandfather Amitabh Bachchan -- a veteran actor and head of Bollywood's most famous family -- could barely contain his joy.

"I AM DADA (grandfather) to the cutest baby girl!!" the 69-year-old Bachchan tweeted.

No further details were immediately available.

Rai, 38, a former Miss World, has been married to actor Abhishek Bachchan for more than four years and the star couple had been fending off baby rumours for months before the pregnancy was confirmed in June.

The Bollywood actress had been expected to give birth to her first child in November, and the Indian media followed her pregnancy obsessively.

She was admitted to a Mumbai hospital on Monday night.

Rai, who often features on "most beautiful" lists, won the Miss World crown in 1994. She went on to build a successful Bollywood career with hits such as "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam" and "Devdas".

She has also worked in Hollywood films such as "The Pink Panther 2" and is a regular at the Cannes film festival.

This is the third grandchild for Amitabh Bachchan. His daughter Shweta has two children.