Govt should stick to existing fiscal consolidation: PM's Advisory council

The CSO in its latest forecast, has pegged GDP to grow at a rate of 7.2% for 2018-19

The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) on Friday said the government should not deviate from the existing fiscal consolidation road map which requires the finance ministry to set a fiscal deficit target of 3.1 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) for the upcoming year. The statement comes ahead of the interim Budget 2019-20, and at a time when there are also concerns about 2018-19’s target of 3.3 per cent of GDP.

In an official statement after a meeting of its members, the EAC-PM also said the GDP growth rate is expected to remain in the range of