Govt assured of adhering to five.9% fiscal deficit goal: Finance Secretary

The federal government is assured of adhering to the 5.9 per cent fiscal deficit goal budgeted for the present fiscal and the extension of free ration scheme is not going to influence the fiscal consolidation path, Finance Secretary T V Somanathan stated on Thursday. “I’m assured, as of as we speak, we are going to adhere to our fiscal targets. Announcement on the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) doesn’t by itself imply something for our fiscal consolidation path. We’re nonetheless dedicated to that path. That call doesn’t draw us off that path,” Somanathan instructed reporters.

The Union Cupboard, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, earlier this week prolonged the PMGKAY scheme to offer 5 kilograms of free foodgrains monthly to 81.35 crore poor individuals for one more 5 years that may price the exchequer about Rs 11.80 lakh crore.

The scheme was to finish this December.

It was launched in 2020 as a pandemic aid measure, beneath which 5 kilograms of free foodgrains per beneficiary monthly was offered along with the 5 kilograms of subsidised foodgrains beneath the Nationwide Meals Safety Act (NFSA).

As per the information launched by the Controller Basic of Accounts on Thursday, fiscal deficit, or the hole in authorities income and expenditure, within the April-October interval stood at Rs 8.03 lakh crore or 45 per cent of the total yr finances estimate.

For the 2023-24 fiscal, the federal government has budgeted the fiscal deficit to be Rs 17.86 lakh crore or 5.9 per cent of the GDP. Chief Financial Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran stated “fiscal administration stays on observe” as is clear from the fiscal deficit numbers within the first seven months of the fiscal. The April-October fiscal deficit was 45.6 per cent of the total yr BE within the final fiscal. Within the previous 5 years, the deficit on the finish of October used to common round 81.6 per cent of the finances estimate, he stated.

As per the fiscal consolidation roadmap, the federal government goals to scale back fiscal deficit to beneath 4.5 per cent by 2025-26 from 6.4 per cent of GDP in 2022-23.