Will ensure stable fiscal health despite rise in govt spending: Finance secretary – Times of India
NEW DELHI: Finance secretary TV Somanathan on Saturday said that the Centre will ensure that the fiscal position remains stable despite elevated spending on food and fertiliser subsidies and refund of arrears linked to export incentives. “We want to ensure that India remains in a zone of fiscal and macro-economic stability, while also taking care of the requirements of the poor and vulnerable,” he told TOI.
The finance secretary also played down concerns over taper tantrum, or the impact of the withdrawal of surplus liquidity in developed markets, saying the overall financial position in the country was much better. “We do not know the exact timing or the details. Because of high reserves, we are not in a vulnerable situation like 2012-13. Relative to others, fiscally we have been very prudent, we are a positive outlier now. Plus, there are much higher growth prospects,” Somanathan said, adding that the country will grow by at least 6-7% next year over and above projections of double-digit growth during the current fiscal year.
Earlier this week, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said that the government and RBI were keeping close tabs on the situation but most countries had learnt their lessons from the last taper tantrum. The top finance ministry officer said the government’s revenue numbers were looking better but there were risks on the non-tax revenue front, in what may be a pointer to a possible shortfall in funds coming from telecom sector.
A day after the government announced the sale of Air India to Tata Sons, Somanathan told TOI that the government will push the national asset monetisation pipeline during the current financial year. The move is seen to be crucial as it will not just generate resources for the Centre and public sector companies but the funds will be redeployed to create fresh assets.
The finance secretary also played down concerns over taper tantrum, or the impact of the withdrawal of surplus liquidity in developed markets, saying the overall financial position in the country was much better. “We do not know the exact timing or the details. Because of high reserves, we are not in a vulnerable situation like 2012-13. Relative to others, fiscally we have been very prudent, we are a positive outlier now. Plus, there are much higher growth prospects,” Somanathan said, adding that the country will grow by at least 6-7% next year over and above projections of double-digit growth during the current fiscal year.
Earlier this week, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said that the government and RBI were keeping close tabs on the situation but most countries had learnt their lessons from the last taper tantrum. The top finance ministry officer said the government’s revenue numbers were looking better but there were risks on the non-tax revenue front, in what may be a pointer to a possible shortfall in funds coming from telecom sector.
A day after the government announced the sale of Air India to Tata Sons, Somanathan told TOI that the government will push the national asset monetisation pipeline during the current financial year. The move is seen to be crucial as it will not just generate resources for the Centre and public sector companies but the funds will be redeployed to create fresh assets.
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