Off-Budget liability half of EAC estimates

The government has estimated the liability on account of some "off-Budget" items of expenditure to be around 1 per cent of GDP for 2007-08. This is lower than the estimates of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (EAC) which estimated that these items accounted for over 2 per cent of GDP.

Acknowledging that the current deficit figures are understated due to non-inclusion of such liabilities, the finance ministry has for the first time mentioned such liabilities in the Budget document. However, they only find a mention and are not part of the actual Budget calculations.

According to the data provided, securities issued in the first and second supplementary demands for grants to oil marketing companies and fertiliser companies stood at Rs 11,257 crore and Rs 7,500 crore, respectively.

The government is expected to seek an additional Rs 29,000 crore worth of securities for oil marketing companies in the third supplementary demand for grants. This amounts to around Rs 47,757 crore on account of such liabilities, translating into around 1 per cent of the GDP in 2007-08.

At the central level, these liabilities include subsidies on account of oil bonds issued to oil marketing companies, securities to the Food Corporation of India and also fertiliser subsidies. In the states, they include losses incurred by public utilities.

Accepting that the current deficit figures are substantially understated as current accounting practice does not include oil, food and fertiliser bonds, Chidambaram announced in his Budget speech that the 13th Finance Commission headed by Vijay Kelkar would be asked to prepare a revised fiscal roadmap, which will include such liabilities.

Former economic affairs secretary EAS Sarma said: "The original Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) draft provided for including off-Budget liabilities in calculating fiscal deficit. It also provided for a watchdog committee to keep a track of the progress."

However, those provisions were diluted in the Act."