Responding to a wide range of questions after his address, which summed up the government's economic policies, he said: "No one now advocates full convertibility of the rupee. The current fashionable phrase is `fuller convertibility', which means the process of liberalisation will continue, but some restrictions will stay."

The third significant announcement Chidambaram made was that the Sixth Pay Commission Report would be submitted by March-April, 2008. Clarifying on the recent SEBI measures to moderate `copius' capital flows, which had jolted the stock markets, he said: "At the moment we are not contemplating any more measures."

A reporter pointed to a `North-South divide' on the minimum support price for wheat, which is grown largely in the North and whose MSP has been increased to Rs 1,000 a quintal while paddy, grown mostly in the South, has its MSP at Rs 725 only.

The Finance Minister said the government had accepted the recommendations of the Commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices both for paddy and wheat and it announced a bonus of Rs 50 for paddy only.

Replying to a question on banks using muscle power to recover loan arrears from defaulters, Chidambaram said only one or two private banks had done so and the RBI had fined one of them heavily while the Supreme Court too had deprecated the practice. "I will take firm action if any public sector bank resorted to the use of muscle power."

• Sixth Pay Commission report by March-April, 2008
  
• Hardening fuel, food prices a source of worry
  
• Full convertibility of the rupee not yet
  
• No more steps at the moment to control capital
  
• Stern action if public sector banks use force to recover bad loans