-The Hindu In bridging the GST gap, the Centre ought to help States through the Consolidated Fund of India It is beyond anyone’s imagination that the Government of India would invoke the “Force Majeure” clause against its own people. Unfortunately, this has become reality at a time when every Indian State is massively burdened by the COVID-19 crisis and governance has been severely affected. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement on Thursday that the...
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Budget again reveals structural fiscal constraint -Rathin Roy
-Business Standard/ NIPFP Strap: It recognises that the medium-term fiscal arithmetic does not afford space for expansionary fiscal policy In my column on the FY20 Budget (A silent fiscal crisis, July 5, 2019), I had warned that the government faced a structural fiscal constraint that was concealed by using incorrectly optimistic numbers for revenue receipts. This year’s Budget is transparent. But the government continues to be heavily fiscally constrained due to inadequate...
More »Explained: What ails the credibility of India's Budget numbers -Udit Misra
-The Indian Express Advancing the Union Budget by a month has not helped fiscal marksmanship In the first part of this series on the Union Budget, we explained how the nominal Gross Domestic Product (which is the market value of all goods and services produced within the domestic boundaries of India) is the key number that determines the shape and form of the Union Budget. In short, the nominal GDP for the current...
More »Centre's decision on Revenue Deficit grant fails to cheer State -NJ Nair
-The Hindu Concerned over time and quantum of funds to be devolved over the years Even after the Centre accepting the Union Finance Commission’s Revenue Deficit grant award of Rs. 74,000 crore, the State government is concerned over the time and quantum of funds to be devolved over the years. The concern is largely based on the Centre’s practice of slashing the grant progressively in the previous years. Citing financial constraints, if the...
More »Will the Budget suspend the FRBM's fiscal deficit goals? -Ajit Ranade & NR Bhanumurthy
-The Hindu Any fiscal deficit needs to ideally redirect spending priorities to capital from consumption With revenue receipts lagging behind budget estimates and economic growth slowing sharply, there is a real risk of the Centre missing its fiscal deficit target this year. In a discussion moderated by Suresh Seshadri, N.R. Bhanumurthy and Ajit Ranade look at how the Union Budget may approach the fiscal balancing act in the face of a need...
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