Cost of credit must be brought down: Anand Sharma

New Delhi, Feb 11 (ANI): Asserting that the country needed investment in the manufacturing sector, Union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma has said the cost of credit must be brought down as soon as possible.

Talking to reporters here, Sharma said the cost of credit was an impediment to the country's export growth and tackling the situation was the need of the hour.

"It has been low for the last four months and we have taken review meetings. What is important is that there has to be investment in manufacturing, if that does not happen, there will be a pressure on India's growth," he added.

"W have been urging the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and I have discussed this with the Prime Minister and Finance Minister that the cost of credit to the industry should be brought down and the RBI should consider a differential rate of credit for the industry," Sharma said.

He further asserted that the government has decided to have a differential rate of credit, so that the situation improves in the coming days.

Recently, the government reported a 25.8 percent growth in exports for April-December 2011.

India's industrial growth faced a steep fall in December, mounting pressure on the RBI to cut interest rates.

Index of Industrial Production (IIP) rose 1.8 percent, below the 5.9 percent rise in November

"Money is not invested in manufacturing, it has a social dimension on job creation also. So we, as a government, have taken a considered view to have a differential rate of credit for the SME sector, which stands notified. You also have to look at besides the numbers at the managerial index, that's the PMI, the PMI numbers are looking healthy. So, in the coming months, you will see that there will be a positive improvement," Sharma said (ANI)