INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Government may go for a less enthusiastic financial deficit target owing to rising Omicron casesNEW DELHI: Government is aiming for a
financial deficit of 6.3 per cent to 6.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) for the next financial year, a less enthusiastic target
than formerly planned as COVID-19 infections threaten the economic recovery, three federal government authorities said.Finance Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman is due to reveal the 2022-23 union budget on February 1 and authorities stated the thinking was that sharp cuts in
government expenditure might harm growth prospects.India's case load of coronavirus infections is surging, fuelled by the Omicron variant
and the concern is that customer and organization spending will be hit, leaving the government with little option but to step in.The
strategy now is to target a 30-50 basis point cut in the financial deficit for the next fiscal year, the authorities involved in the
They declined to be called as they were not authorised to speak with media.Policymakers were wishing to reduce the fiscal deficit by a wider
margin, after cutting the deficit by 240 basis points to 6.8 per cent in the existing ending in March.Some private financial experts and
brokerages said the fiscal deficit could be lowered to around 5 percent of GDP from 9.4 per cent in 2020-21, after the unwinding of pandemic
stimulus and rise in earnings receipts.Rising coronavirus cases have forced many states to enforce restrictions, raising issues amongst
policymakers that falling consumer belief could affect the rate of the economic healing and all budget calculations.Asia's third-largest
economy could miss the 10 percent development target for the present 2021-22 as the new Omicron variant is seen disrupting economic activity
through January-March and may likewise moisten belief in the next financial year, officials said.And, the economic growth target would not
be more than 7 per cent for the next fiscal year starting April, two authorities said.The financing minister is set to unveil new targets
for federal government costs, tax invoices and economic development while presenting her third yearly budget plan in parliament
The (budget plan) discussions are on, one of the officials said, adding the federal government intended to bring down the deficit and
increase capital costs while keeping earnings spending flat.A financing ministry representative decreased to comment for the story.Domestic
economy has been recuperating since mobility curbs were raised in June, however economists fear that new constraints might drag out
development in the coming months
The economy contracted 7.3 per cent in the last financial year.Any indications of economic downturn and a higher fiscal deficit target,
financial experts said, might delay the normalisation of the accommodative stance of the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee,
which would satisfy from February 7 to 9 after the presentation of the budget
We are most likely to miss out on the divestment (privatisation) target by a large margin, one of the officials stated, including that sale
of companies such as BPCL, banks and insurance provider would be held off to the next monetary year.The federal government has up until now
raised 93.3 billion rupees ($1.3 billion), a portion of the 1.75 trillion rupees target in receipts from privatisation in the present ,
while greater tax collections have helped narrow the fiscal deficit.
