Govt: Rs 16 lakh crore ‘too low’ to meet deficit target

In the wake of the disastrously low GDP numbers, the Reserve Bank of India has slashed its target for fiscal year 2019-20 to Rs 16,000 crore, from Rs 16.5 lakh crore.

The central bank has already reduced its target to Rs 11,800 crore from Rs 12,000 cr a year earlier.

This is a major blow to the Finance Ministry, which has projected the deficit at Rs 14,000-15,000 crores for the fiscal.

The government has been projecting a surplus of around Rs 8,500 crore for the current financial year, but the finance ministry has estimated a deficit of around 15,000 lakh crores.

In a press conference today, finance minister Arun Jaitley said, “We are not making a final decision, we are going to go with the money.

But it’s not a decision that we have taken yet.”

The Reserve Bank had projected a fiscal deficit of 15,300 crs in the fiscal 2019-2020, but it is likely that the government will be able to achieve a net fiscal surplus of Rs 11 lakh crore for 2019-2018.