“We will have a reasonable growth rate... inflation will moderate and growth rate would be very satisfactory,” he told reporters as he wound up work in the Finance Ministry before moving to the other part of North Block as Home Minister.

“In the case of India it will only amount to a slowdown and not recession,” he said, expressing confidence that the economy would notch 7-8 per cent growth rate in the current fiscal. Chidambaram was appointed home minister yesterday with the finance portfolio moving under the care of the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

“The Prime Minister can handle this finance portfolio far better than anyone else and I am confident that the people of this country, when they look back at the five years of UPA rule, will applaud its economic performance under the guidance of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,” he said. The minister further stated that with PM taking direct charge close coordination between the finance ministry and RBI would ensue.

One of the key issues that Chidambaram has been tacking over the past few months is inflation, which has now started showing signs of waning. “There is unfinished work in this ministry, too, especially in this difficult year,” he said. However, as a member of the Cabinet, he would continue to be deeply engaged in matters that are placed before it.

Responding to a query, Chidambaram said there will always be an unfinished agenda. “How can there be no unfinished agenda?” he asked. Though he did not elaborate, the Finance Ministry is yet to carry out reforms in the pension and banking regulations and bring out a direct tax code.

The other pending work of hiking FDI in private insurance to 49 per cent from 26 per cent has been approved by the Cabinet and the bill is expected to be introduced in this session of the Lok Sabha. To a query on the income tax code, he said the Central Board of Direct Taxes will release the discussion paper on the code at an appropriate time. The direct tax code will replace and simplify the over four-decade-old Income Tax Act, among other pieces of legislation. Chidambaram also said that he has spoken to World Bank President Robert B Zoellick for doubling lending to India to $6 billion. India is seeking more money from the World Bank to fight slowdown in capital inflows, and spur economic growth through investment in infrastructure. India has sought half of the additional amount by March-end and the remaining half by June next year, he added.