Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday delivered a crisp interim budget for FY25 that reiterated the government's commitment to fiscal consolidation and infrastructure-led growth. There were only a few announcements and no changes to taxes, in a sign that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led administration is confident of returning to power in polls due by May.
In her shortest budget speech yet, while Sitharaman conveyed the government's focus on four key priority sectors-women, farmers, youth and the poor - she steered clear of populism. The allocation to welfare schemes (central sector and centrally sponsored schemes combined) for the next financial year was increased by just 4.7% over the revised estimates for FY24.
Overall, the budgeted increase in government spending to ₹47.66 trillion is a mere 6.1% over the revised estimates for FY24. The overall spending on subsidies is 7% lower than the revised estimates, thanks to a 13.2% lower dole on fertilizers.
The rectitude in spending meant the fiscal deficit, or the gap between revenue receipts and spending met through borrowing, for FY25 is estimated at ₹16.85 trillion, or 5.1% of GDP. Moreover, the current financial year's fiscal deficit has been revised downwards by 10 basis points to 5.8% of GDP.
The finance minister promised that the government will continue this consolidation to bring the fiscal deficit below 4.5% of GDP by FY26. The fiscal consolidation plan is aided by an 11.5% growth in gross tax-revenue in FY25, translating to a tax buoyancy of 1.1. Tax buoyancy refers to the ratio between the rate of growth in tax collections over the economic growth rate.
Bu hikaye Mint Mumbai dergisinin February 02, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye Mint Mumbai dergisinin February 02, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
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