New Delhi: The Central government said on Friday that it will stick to a 3.4 percent fiscal deficit for the current financial year 2018-19.
“We will stick to our 3.4 percent fiscal deficit target,” said Subhash Chandra Garg, Secretary at the Department of Economic Affairs.
Earlier in February, while presenting the annual budget for 2019-20, the government had revised upward its fiscal deficit target to 3.4 percent of GDP for the current fiscal year from the previously estimated 3.3 percent
budgeted target.
Garg said gross borrowing for 2019-20 will be Rs 7.1 lakh crore. “We will raise Rs 4.42 lakh crore in first half of the year and Rs 17,000 crore per weeks for 26 weeks.”
The Central government will also introduce a new benchmark for 7-year securities. “We will also announce switch calendar. The switch to happen on the third Monday every month,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said the country’s current account deficit widened to 2.5 percent of GDP in the third quarter of the current fiscal from 2.1 percent a year ago, largely due to the higher trade deficit.
In absolute terms, the current account deficit was 16.9 billion dollars during October to December 2018, up from 13.7 billion dollars in the year-ago period.
The deficit, however, had moderated to 19.1 billion dollars or 2.9 percent of GDP in the preceding quarter of July to September.
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]