
"There's no way we are close to being a country in financial or economic crisis...There's not a chance we will go to the IMF for money in the next five years," he said at CNN's Debate on the Global Economy.
The Reserve Bank has taken a series of measures to strengthen rupee and promote growth. Allaying fears of India not being able to meet its financial obligations, Rajan said: "India's external debt to GDP is 22 percent. 22 percent of GDP is external debt and India's has reserve of USD 280 billion which is 15 per cent of GDP."
In other words, the country can pay three-fourth of its debt from its forex reserves, he said. "Out of total short-term external debt that we have to pay for is 10 percent of GDP. So, we have enough reserve to take care of that," he said speaking on the sidelines of the fund's meeting here.
He said: "We bought over USD 60 billion dollar gold last year. USD 60 billion accounts for three-fourth of our current account deficit. If the push comes to shove, we can pay the world in gold."
He said while India's economy has slowed, the country's forex reserves are large enough. "We need to bring back growth now. But we're still doing better than a significant number of economies in the world," he said.
India's economic growth fell to a decade low of 5 percent in 2012-13 fiscal, while its current account deficit soared to an-all time high of 4.8 percent of GDP that year.
The Indian currency, which depreciated sharply after US Fed announcement of stimulus tapering in May, has pushed up cost of imports, mainly crude oil and contributing to inflation. During the debate, Rajan also warned that "easy money" created by the US Fed's stimulus policies is large part of the problem.
"Easy money is part of our problem," India's top banker said. Finance Minister P Chidambaram, who is also in Washington, has dismissed IMF's growth projection of 3.75 percent for India as pessimistic.
He said the country's economy is expected to grow by 5 to 5.5 percent in the current financial year on back of good monsoon, robust farm output and impact of reform measures undertaken by the government in past one year. Both Chidambaram and Rajan are here to participate in the Fund-Bank meetings.
Other participants in the debate included Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of IMF, Gang Yi, Deputy Governor of People's Bank of China, Luis de Guindos and Minister of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain.
PTI
More From GoodReturns

Gold Rate Today Continues Rally, 24K Jumps Over Rs 35000 in 2 Days; 22K & 18K Gold, Silver Prices in Delhi

Gold Rate Today Bounces Back After Sharp Drop; Silver Price Unchanged; Latest 22K, 24K, 18K Rates in Delhi

Big Jump in Gold Rate Today; Rising Nearly Rs 20,000/24K per100g; Silver Above Rs 2.5 Lakh in Delhi on 1 April

Gold Price Today, April 3: 22K, 24K Rates Jump Across Tanishq, Malabar, Kalyan & Joyalukkas & IBJA

BIG Jump In Bangalore Gold Rate Today, 24K Skyrockets Above Rs 1.5 Lakh Mark, Silver Stable | April 3 Rates

Jump of Over Rs 41,000/24K in Gold Rate in India Over Four Sessions; Will Gold Price Today Hit Rs 1.50 Lakh?

Gold & Silver Rates Today Live: 10 Grams Gold Above Rs 1.51 Lakh, Physical Silver Price Gains By Rs 5,000

Delhi Gold Rate Today Nears Rs 1.50 Lakh; Silver Prices Rally: Latest 22K, 24K, 18K Rates on Mahavir Jayanti

Gold Rates & Silver Rates Today Live: MCX Gold & Silver Price Falls By 1% As Spot Gold Price Hits Below $4,500

Rupee Crash Alert: INR Breaches 95/USD; What It Means For Gold Rate in India? Explained

Gold Price in India Remains Above Rs 1.48 Lakh Mark, Silver Rate Today Nears Rs 2.5 Lakh | March 29 Rates



Click it and Unblock the Notifications