Page 8 - Fiscal Deficit

India's fiscal deficit in FY24 improved to 5.6% of GDP: Govt data

A fiscal deficit arises when government spending exceeds revenue

India's FY24 fiscal deficit lower than full-year target, shows govt data

The fiscal deficit came in at Rs 16.54 trillion ($198.34 billion), or 95.3% of the estimate, even as the government continued its record infrastructure spending to boost the economy

Record RBI dividend at 0.6% of GDP may not be sustained, says Fitch

Fitch said an important driver of higher RBI profits appears to be higher interest revenue on foreign assets, though the central bank has not yet provided a detailed breakdown

RBI dividend usage to signal new govt's fiscal priorities: Ratings agencies

Global rating agencies on Friday said windfall of Rs 2.1 lakh crore dividend from the RBI is positive for the country's fiscal metrics and its usage will provide a signal around the new government's fiscal priorities. The board of India's central bank earlier this week decided to pay Rs 2.1 lakh crore dividend to the government from the profits earned in 2023-24. This is more than double of Rs 1.02 lakh crore that was budgeted by the government. Fitch Ratings Asia-Pacific Sovereigns Director Jeremy Zook said sustained deficit reduction, particularly if underpinned by durable revenue-raising reforms, would be positive for India's rating fundamentals over the medium-term. "The use of the dividend -- whether it is saved or used for additional spending -- could provide a signal around the government's fiscal priorities," Zook told PTI in an email response. Fitch has a 'BBB-' rating on India with a stable outlook. In January, the rating agency had affirmed India's rating on robust growt

India's new govt will be spoilt for choice with $25 bn extra in kitty

On Wednesday, the RBI announced a record Rs 2.11 trillion dividend transfer to the government

RBI's surplus transfer sparks hope for reduced govt borrowing by Rs 1 trn

Bond market participants are now focusing on the upcoming monetary policy meeting in June to assess the central bank's liquidity stance

Fiscal bonanza

RBI transfer should be used for fiscal consolidation

India to get rating support if it uses RBI dividend to reduce deficit: S&P

The interim budget presented in Parliament earlier in the year targets a fiscal deficit of 5.1 per cent of the GDP

Bumper RBI dividend of Rs 2.11 trillion to give govt more fiscal room

Economists said that the government may not need much borrowing because of the highest-ever transfer of surplus to the government

Will stock market crash if BJP gets less than 270 seats in Lok Sabha polls?

In the worst case scenario where the NDA is unable to secure a majority (seats less than 272), analysts at Bernstein expect 'heavy profit booking' in the markets with low or negligible returns

India's fiscal deficit for FY24 likely to be better than expected

Govt capex for the last financial year also in line with projections, say sources

FY24 fiscal deficit seen slightly better than projected Rs 17.4 trn: Report

India's income tax receipts rose 17.7% year-on-year to nearly $235 billion in 2023/24, higher than government's projection

India's oil import bill could swell to $101-104 billion in FY25: ICRA

India's net oil import bill could widen to USD 101-104 billion in current fiscal from USD 96.1 billion in 2023-24 and any escalation in the Iran-Israel conflict could impart an upward pressure on the value of imports, ICRA said on Tuesday. The domestic rating agency said based on its analysis, lower value of Russian oil imports is estimated to have led to savings of USD 7.9 billion in 11 months (April-February) of 2023-24, up from USD 5.1 billion in 2022-23. "With India's oil import dependency expected to remain high, if the discounts on purchases of Russian crude persist at the prevailing low levels, ICRA expects India's net oil import bill to widen to USD 101-104 billion in FY2025 from USD 96.1 billion in FY2024, assuming an average crude oil price of USD 85/bbl in the fiscal," ICRA said. Additionally, any escalation in the IranIsrael conflict and an associated rise in crude oil prices could impart an upward pressure on the value of net oil imports in the current fiscal year, it .

States fiscal deficits for FY24 likely to be close to 3.1% of GDP: Citi

The report suggests grants from Centre to states have been falling due to no GST compensation funds and lower finance commission grants

Creating adequate fiscal space important to give impetus to growth: Kovind

Creating adequate fiscal space is important to give impetus to the current growth trajectory, said former President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday. Speaking at an event organised by TIOL here, the former president said no nation can prosper without predictability and certainty in the tax architecture. The fiscal architecture is one of its most important pillars, he said. Sound fiscal management attracts both public and private capital and improves the quality of the public-private partnership. "Over the years, we have made great progress in streamlining our taxation policy. The complex tax regimes themselves have been simplified beyond recognition" he said. Now there are fewer tax slabs, processes have been streamlined. taxation policy has become more predictable and investor confidence improved while ease of doing business has enhanced, he said. All this has been made possible by leveraging technology and going forward faceless tax assessment will be the norm, he said. Speaking at

Kerala paid Rs 26,000 cr in March to various sectors: State FM Balagopal

Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal on Saturday said that despite a fiscal pressure, the state government made payments to the tune of Rs 26,000 crore to various sectors in March alone. Talking to the media after visiting the treasury here in the state capital on the last working day of the fiscal year, Balagopal said, "We made payments to the tune of Rs 26,000 crore in this March alone. This is higher than the last fiscal year. We made payments to various sectors at a time when we were facing financial pressure." He said the state government effectively intervened to manage the financial crisis and an interim application on the borrowing limit and other matters are pending before the Supreme Court. Balagopal added that the apex court recently ruled in the state's favour as there was substance in its arguments regarding the financial strangulation. The apex court was hearing a suit filed by the Kerala government that alleged that the Union of India was regulating the state's ...

India's Apr-Feb fiscal deficit at Rs 15.01 trn, hits 86.5% of FY24 target

The Centre's fiscal deficit is estimated at Rs 17.34 trillion for FY24

Fiscal deficit at Feb-end touches 86.5% of full-year target: Govt data

The government's fiscal deficit at Rs 15 lakh crore touched 86.5 per cent of the revised annual target at the end of February, according to official data released on Thursday. In the corresponding period last year, the fiscal deficit or gap between the expenditure and revenue was 82.8 per cent of Revised Estimates (RE) of the Union Budget 2022-23. For 2023-24, the government's fiscal deficit is estimated at Rs 17.35 lakh crore or 5.8 per cent of the GDP. The government's total receipts stood at Rs 22.45 lakh crore (81.5 per cent of corresponding RE 2023-24 of total receipts) as of February 2024, according to the data released by Controller General of Accounts (CGA). The total expenditure incurred by the Centre was Rs 37.47 lakh crore (83.4 per cent of corresponding RE 2023-24).

Inflationary pressure

Fiscal expansion increased inflation in the developed world

India's exports may reach $450 bn this fiscal: FIEO Prez Ashwani Kumar

The country's merchandise exports are expected to reach USD 450 billion by the end of this fiscal despite geo-political challenges like the Red Sea crisis, newly elected president of apex exporters body FIEO Ashwani Kumar said on Tuesday. He said that the need of the hour is to address the Red Sea crisis challenges by ensuring the availability of marine insurance and rational increase in freight charges. The exporting sector, particularly, MSMEs, needs easy and low-cost credit, and marketing support to further boost the country's exports, Kumar said, adding early conclusion of free trade agreements such as with the UK and Oman will also help push the outbound shipments. "I will focus on addressing issues of MSMEs as they are going to play. They will play a key role in achieving the USD 1 trillion goods export target by 2030. They are the backbone of the economy and they are facing certain issues pertaining to credit. I would urge banks to come forward in extending support to these