Finance Minister Jaswant Singh said on Sunday that it would take three years to complete the direct tax reform process, and promised that more action on government downsizing and labour reforms would be initiated in due course.

A day after presenting his maiden Budget, Singh told Business Standard that tax reform was not a one-year effort. "It is a continuous process and will continue," he said. The impending elections, he argued, had nothing to do with his action on the Kelkar task force reports.

On the downsizing plan, the finance minister said he would "demonstrate it through action". First, he will set his own house in order before turning to other ministries and departments.

The demand for a rollback in fertiliser price hikes announced in the Budget did not go down well with Singh. "I will take a re-look at the issue," he said. In increasing the fertiliser prices, the intention was to direct the subsidy to the target audience, farmers, he said, adding that the fertiliser factories should not be the beneficiaries of the subsidy intended for farmers.

At the same time, he did not rule out a rollback either. When asked if he would stick to his Budget announcement, Singh replied, "I am not saying that. I am a servant of Parliament. I have to see how the debate takes place."

Although Singh would not put a figure to his growth and inflation assumptions for the next fiscal, he said he had been conservative with the estimates.

He was also not unduly perturbed with the fiscal deficit target at 5.6 per cent of  the GDP for 2003-04. "A downward slide is welcome," he said, pointing out that the deficit had been on an ascending curve in the last two years.

Singh, however, was sure that his Rs 60,000-crore (Rs 600 billion) infrastructure investment plan would spur growth. "The government has committed that it will meet the critical viability gap, or provide the cover," he said. Each of these projects, in roads, rail, airports and seaports, would not only create employment, but transform the whole investment climate, he said.

Though the food subsidies for 2003-04 had been estimated at Rs 27,800 crore (Rs 278 billion), 15 per cent higher than the revised estimates for the current fiscal, Singh said food security was paramount in his mind in allocating a higher subsidy.

The finance minister also drew comfort from the macro-economic indicators, which, he said, never looked so good.

"Despite a drought and a 3.1 per cent decline in agricultural output, the threat of a war in the Gulf and rising oil prices, we registered a 4.4 per cent growth in the current year," he said.

Singh said more announcements on the reforms measures he had undertaken in the financial sector would be made in due course.