Days ahead of the 2017-18 Budget, the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Committee, headed by former Planning Commission member N K Singh, is likely to set the fiscal deficit target in the range of 3-3.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) for the financial year 2017-18.
According to a private report, the FRBM Committee would build cyclicality in setting fiscal deficit projections by switching to a target range (3-3.5 per cent) from a point target of 3 per cent. The report also said that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is likely to relax the fiscal deficit target of 3.5 per cent of GDP same as that of 2016-17 in his February 1 Budget.
On the Reserve Bank's policy easing stance, the report has said that the RBI is likely to cut rates by 25 bps on February 8 and in April. The report also said that Central Bank rate cuts will send a strong signal to banks to cut the effective lending rate, which really matters for growth. On December 7, the central bank kept interest rate unchanged despite calls for lowering it and also lowered the economic growth projection by half a percentage point to 7.1 per cent in the first policy review post-demonetisation. It further added that the central bank will hold its next monetary policy meet on February 8.
Meanwhile, the government had set up the five member panel in May, 2016 to review the FRBM Act. The committee had wide ranging terms of reference to comprehensively review the existing FRBM Act in the light of contemporary changes, past outcomes, global economic developments, best international practices and to recommend the future fiscal framework and road map for the country.
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