RBI deputy says will manage FY14 government borrowing

A man walks past a logo of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in front of its building in Kolkata May 21, 2012.

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The RBI will be able to manage the government's borrowing programme for the next fiscal year, Urjit Patel, a deputy governor at the Reserve Bank of India, said on Thursday, after the government unveiled a higher-than-expected gross borrowing number.

Patel said the budget was a move in the direction of adressing the government's fiscal and current account deficits.

He was speaking to reporters after the finance minister presented the annual budget for the fiscal year ending in March 2014 earlier in the day.

The government is planning to borrow 6.29 trillion rupees in the fiscal year starting April, higher than the 5.58 trillion rupees for the current fiscal year.

India unveiled higher-than-expected spending for fiscal 2013/14, aiming to fund it with higher revenues - including new taxes on the rich and large companies - in a budget aimed at reviving growth amid the country's worst slowdown in a decade.

(Reporting by Neha Dasgupta; Editing by Jijo Jacob)