Fiscal deficit target of 3.3% realistic: Finance secy

Dismissing apprehension over meeting fiscal deficit target of 3.3 per cent of the GDP, the finance ministry Friday said the lower target is realistic as the government is expecting net additional revenue of Rs 6,000 crore over the interim Budget estimates.

The government in the interim Budget in February had projected a fiscal deficit of 3.4 per cent for the current fiscal.

Several critics including some rating agencies have doubted prospects of meeting this ambitious fiscal deficit target.

Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg in a customary briefing post Budget said, "On the revenue side as compared to actual of 2018-19, direct taxes are expected to increase by 17.5 per cent, indirect taxes are going up by only 15 per cent. This is very realistic targets in our judgement. On non-tax side, there is also an increase as we are expecting better dividends."