By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, OCT 25, 2017: THE Govt has claimed that there has been a steady consolidation of fiscal deficit in the last few years. Fiscal deficit of the central government had reached alarmingly high level of close to 6 per cent 2011-12 and averaged over 5 per cent between 2011-12 and 2013-14. The government is committed to fiscal consolidation path and has shown a steely resolve to reduce the fiscal deficit to 3.5 per cent of GDP in 2016-17 and further to 3.2 per cent as per the Budget estimates in 2017-18.

Fiscal deficit of the Government of India as a ratio of GDP was 3.9 per cent in 2015-16 and 3.5 per cent for 2016-17 [Revised Estimate] and is budgeted to be 3.2 per cent in 2017-18. Focus on expenditure rationalization with plugging loopholes in public expenditure and innovative revenue raising efforts have helped to achieve this.
 
From the angle of internal and external public debt stock, India does not face serious fiscal solvency related issues. Government of India’s total outstanding liabilities-to-GDP ratio is budgeted to decline from 46.7 per cent by year-end 2016-17(RE) to 44.7 per cent by year-end 2017-18.
 
Tax revenue (net to Centre) is increased by 16.8 per cent in 2016-17 (Provisional Actual) and it is budgeted to grow by 11.3 per cent in 2017-18.

Fiscal deficit during April-August is 96 per cent of the full-year budgeted fiscal deficit on account of front loading of expenditure, but we are reasonably confident that full year budgeted ratio of fiscal deficit of 3.2 per cent of GDP will not be breached.