Every number in Budget is authentic, speculation wrong: Sitharaman

The government will control its finances without compromising on public expenditure, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday as she defended numbers in her Budget speech about India's economy.

"I will assure the House there is no need for any speculation on figures given in Budget and every number is authentic," she said in Parliament, referring to analysts pointing out the difference in data in the Budget on July 5 and the Economic Survey published a day before.

She said the Survey has projected a nominal GDP growth of 11 per cent in 2019-20, but her ministry has taken into account 12 per cent nominal GDP growth to ensure compatibility with the projections made in the interim Budget in February.

Sitharaman said the fiscal deficit in the regular budget was pegged at 3.3 per cent of the GDP as against 3.4 per cent in the interim budget presented in the House in February.

"The government is committed to the path of fiscal consolidation without compromising on the public expenditure placed by the various sectors," she said during a Lok Sabha discussion on the Budget.

Several opposition parties led by Congress walked out of the Lok Sabha to protest the Budget increasing cess on petrol and diesel, saying the step hurt people.

Sitharaman did not comment on the cess. Petrol price went up by a minimum of Rs 2.40 per litre and diesel by a minimum of Rs 2.36 per litre after the Budget.