Indeed, the federal and provincial governments agreed to set up the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, an entirely independent body. Its sole mandate is to invest the contributions in markets, in order to generate the best possible returns, with due consideration for prudence, over the long term.
Going forward, the fiscal and monetary stimulus measures initiated during 2008-09 coupled with lower commodity prices will cushion the downturn by stabilising domestic economic activity. On balance, with the assumption of normal monsoon, real GDP growth for 2009-10 is placed at around 6.0 per cent. Inflation, as measured by variations in WPI, is projected to be around 4.0 by end March, 2010.