By Anoop Agrawal and Bibhudatta Pradhan Oct. 8 (Bloomberg) -- India's Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said curbing inflation and maintaining financial stability are equally important objectives for the nation, which didn't join an emergency round of interest rate cuts today. ``We are conscious of the fact that liquidity conditions in India too have tightened in the last few weeks,'' Chidambaram told reporters in New Delhi today after briefing the cabinet. ``Steps will be taken to infuse more liquidity, if required.'' The U.S. Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and four other central banks lowered interest rates in a coordinated effort to ease the effects of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. The global financial turmoil pushed India's rupee to the lowest in five and a half years as the benchmark stocks index lost more than a $1 trillion in value this year. India said on Oct. 6 that it would allow banks to set aside smaller reserves for the first time in five years to boost cash in the financial system and calm markets. Policy makers will respond quickly and take more steps if necessary, Chidambaram said. The minister declined to elaborate on what steps the government may take. India's inflation slowed to a 13-week low of 11.99 percent in the week to Sept. 20 from a year earlier after gaining 12.14 percent the previous week, the government said on Oct. 3. To contact the reporter on this story: Anoop Agrawal in Mumbai at aagrawal8@bloomberg.net; Bibhudatta Pradhan in New Delhi at bpradhan@bloomberg.net.

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