Allaying market concerns that a confluence of factors could derail the India’s economic growth, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said that the government is confident of meeting its fiscal deficit target of 3.3% of gross domestic product (GDP) in the fiscal year 2018-19. He added that the government is sure of meeting the fiscal deficit target given robust tax collections.
Jaitley said ‘We will have a growth rate higher than what we’d projected earlier this year in the budget’. He also said the fiscal year that ends in March 2019, will be completed without any spending cuts and inflation remained broadly under control.
Finance Minister’s comment comes a day after he outlined a slew of measures aimed at stemming a decline in the rupee-the worst-performing Asian currency this year. Despite strong GDP growth, the rupee has weakened about 11% this year amid higher oil prices and an emerging markets sell-off. This has widened India’s current account deficit and pushed its balance of payments into the red in April-June for the first time in six quarters.
