Finance minister lays down a five-year road map for fiscal consolidation

29 Oct 2012 Evaluate

Concerned over ballooning budget deficit overturning economic growth, Finance minister P Chidambaram on Monday unveiled a five-year road map for fiscal consolidation to promote investments, rein inflation and push India to high growth trajectory.

In an effort to prevent the country's credit rating being downgraded to junk status, FM said that the government will work towards restricting fiscal deficit in the current financial year to 5.3 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), (higher than the budgeted fiscal deficit for the current fiscal at 5.1 percent of GDP) and further trimming it down to 3 per cent by 2016-17.

Emphasizing on the need of this exercise, he underscored that, “As fiscal consolidation takes place and investors' confidence increases, it is expected that the economy will return to the path of high investment, higher growth, lower inflation and long-term sustainability”.

Laying down the roadmap, the FM exhibited confidence in Government raising Rs 30,000 crore from disinvestment and Rs 40,000 crore from sale of spectrum. As regards the revenue targets, he said, “every effort will also be made to realize the revenue budgeted under tax receipts. Further, the Government would work hard to be able to contain and economies on expenditure, both on the plan and non-plan side.”

The roadmap of fiscal consolidation closely follows the recommendation of the Vijay Kelkar-headed Committee which had suggested that the government should undertake reform initiatives, go ahead with disinvestments and trim subsidies, in absence of which fiscal deficit could shoot up to 6.1 per cent in 2012-13.

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