Washington: India will be able to withstand the costs of the border standoff with Pakistan, Finance Minister Jaswant Singh has said.

"The fundamentals of the Indian economy are sound. For instance, India's current account deficit is less than one per cent. Even the impact of the drought would be marginal," he said.

Addressing reporters on September 29 after attending the annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, he said that the first requirement of security was economic security.

He emphasised that India and China were the fastest growing economies in the world.

"In a global climate of uncertainty, India and China stand out as islands of stability and islands of growth," Singh said.

Singh denied that the disinvestment programme in India had slowed down. "A 90-day period to review issues does not constitute a slowdown," he said.

He agreed with critics that the fiscal deficit had to be reduced and the debt burden lessened but said that it was premature to draw the conclusion that the growth of the economy had slowed.

The minister pointed out that the India's decision on the issue of capital account convertibility had been widely criticised earlier, but she was proved right and today many countries were going to Reserve Bank Governor Bimal Jalan for advice.

PTI