Govt. hopes to reduce fiscal deficit to 4.1 percent for 2014-15: Jaitley

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday announced that the NDA Government would set itself a target of limiting the fiscal deficit for 2014-15 to 4.1 per cent, and would further attempt to reduce it to 3.6 per cent and 3 per cent for fiscal 2015-16 and fiscal 2016-17 respectively.

In his maiden budget speech presented today in the Lok Sabha, Jaitley said that considering the fact that of low GDP growth for the last two yuears, static industrial growth, large subsidy burden and not so encouraging tax buoyancy, these targets are daunting.

Jaitley said that the crisis in Iraq has left an impact on oil prices, and added that the monsoon appears unpredictable. He also said that the problem of black money must also be addressed fully.

Faced with these adversities, the government would undertake some bold steps in order to enhance economic activity and spurt growth in the economy, the Finance Minister added.