In order to understand why the Union Budget 2021-22 is being termed as ‘transparent’, it has to be read simultaneously with the 15th Finance Commission Main Report for 2021-26. But first, let us discuss 'fertilizer subsidy'. The budget documents for Union Budget 2021-22 show that the spending on ‘fertilizer subsidy’ was slashed from Rs. 1,33,947 crore in 2020-21 (revised estimate) to Rs. 79,530 crore in 2021-22 (budget estimate). However, the budgetary...
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A fiscal crisis: Why FCI needs provisioning in food subsidy budget -Sandip Das
-Down to Earth Mounting expenses, under-provisioning of food subsidy budget leading to a huge debt is highly worrisome A fiscal crisis has been brewing in the last few years. Mounting food subsidy arrears — payable to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) due to ‘under-provisioning’ of food subsidy expenses in successive union budgets — has forced FCI to take loans to finance its operations. FCI is the central agency that manages procurement, storage...
More »With stocks piling up, FCI is in deep trouble -Rajalakshmi Nirmal
-The Hindu Business Line Huge losses on procured grains and rising debt are a big concern FCI (Food Corporation of India) is sitting on a mountain of wheat and paddy. In January, the total stock of rice and wheat with FCI was 45.4 million tonnes. This increased to 46.3 million tonnes by April and touched 62.2 million tonnes in May. In July, the stock increased further to 74.2 million which was significantly...
More »India's budget math faces a tough challenge now -Nikita Kwatra
-Livemint.com To keep up with the pressure of making headline fiscal deficit numbers look good, the government has increasingly resorted to off-budget financing for revenue as well as capital spending As with every other Union budget in the country, all eyes will focus on the fiscal deficit number that India’s new finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman presents on 5 July in her maiden budget speech. But for many investors and analysts, how that...
More »A costly short-term borrowing: Dip into small savings -Sunny Verma
-The Indian Express The NSSF collects funds through small savings schemes, such as Post Office Savings Account, National Savings Time Deposits, National Savings Recurring Deposits, National Savings Monthly Income Scheme. It is a costlier form of borrowing for the government as compared to market loans. New Delhi: AN INCREASED reliance on the National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) and issue of recapitalisation bonds has helped the government to improve its fiscal affairs...
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