Govt has no excuses on fiscal deficit this year, says Rathin Roy

When the rupee depreciates beyond that range, we have to ask what factors are behind it

The government has done well in hiking import tariffs on certain discretionary items, Rathin Roy, member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Economic Advisory Council, and director of National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, said in a conversation with Arup Roychoudhury. Excerpts:

You were a member of a panel tasked with advising a new fiscal roadmap. What do you think of the Modi government's record has been so far in terms of central finances? 

The government's record in terms of sticking to a fiscal deficit target, barring last year, has been exemplary. And even for last year, I have considerable sympathy for