Payment of AGR dues to slash fiscal deficit to 3.5% in FY20: SBI economists

According to the revised budget estimates, the government expects a fiscal deficit of 3.8 per cent in 2019-20

Payment of adjusted gross revenue dues of Rs 1.20 trillion by telcos will reduce the fiscal deficit for 2019-20 to 3.5 per cent of the GDP from the revised estimate of 3.8 per cent of the GDP, economists at SBI said on Monday.

However, one will have to wait till March 16 - the payment deadline - before the picture gets clear, they said.

After facing the Supreme Court's ire over non-compliance with its AGR order, the telecom department is pressing for the payment of dues by the telcos.

"The fiscal arithmetic will change significantly post March 16, 2020, (the