Pace of revenue expenditure slows as fiscal deficit target looms

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said the fiscal deficit target of 3.3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) will be met without any cut in capital expenditure

As the Centre strives to meet a very challenging 2018-19 fiscal deficit target in spite of committing itself to no let-up in capital expenditure in a pre-election year, the planners in the finance ministry hope for some savings on administrative and revenue expenditure.

The data available for April-October shows that the pace of revenue expenditure for most social sector ministries and some infrastructure ministries has slowed as compared to the same period last year. Some of these ministries and departments are commerce, coal, consumer affairs, corporate affairs, defence pensions, North-East affairs, housing and urban affairs, school and higher education, small