The government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi should focus on adherence to fiscal prudence and continue on the fiscal consolidation path, suggested SBI Research ahead of the much-awaited full Budget for 2024-25 to be tabled on July 23 - the first Budget under Modi 3.0.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the first pre-budget meeting with leading economists in Delhi on Wednesday as part of pre-budget consultations for the General Budget 2024-25.
The government has been grappling with an unsustainably high fiscal deficit, averaging 7.3 per cent of economic output over the past five years, leading to a staggering national debt of PKR 78.9 trillion.
After having paid an unexpectedly high dividend to the central government by the RBI last financial year, it is now expected that higher dividend payments could continue in the current year too.
The Rs 2.11 lakh all-time high dividend by Reserve Bank of India, will help the government in maintaining the fiscal deficit at targeted 5.1 per cent for the year 2024-25. Fitch Ratings says, the high dividend by RBI could even lower FD below the target.
The new projection slightly exceeds the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) forecast of 7.0 per cent. The agency's forecast indicates higher growth than RBI's for the first and fourth quarters of FY25 but lower for the second and third quarters.
The substantial jump in interest payments to PKR 5.52 trillion from PKR 3.58 trillion in the corresponding period last year contributed significantly to this widening deficit.
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday launched an attack on Congress and said that the party's manifesto is a "cheque drawn on an empty bank."
"Compared to the last time, the Budget increased by 11.37%...The GDP at the national level is estimated to be 7.3% and our estimation (that of the state) is 8%. So, our growth rate is higher than that of the national level," Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said in a press conferen
"A flight simulator training centre is being established in Gurugram, due to which Haryana will emerge as a centre of aviation training. An Aviation College will be established at Hisar for higher education with all elements of aviation. This college will be affiliated to Guru Jambheshwar Un
A budget of Rs 1,89,876.61 crore was proposed for the year 2024-25, which shows an increase of 11.37 percent over the revised estimates of Rs 1,70,490.84 crore for the year 2023-24. The budget includes Rs 1,34,456.36 crore as revenue outlay and Rs 55,420.25 crore as capital outlay which acco