Income support to farmers led to surge in fiscal deficit: Centre

Deviating from the target, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal Friday said fiscal deficit for the current fiscal is expected to be slightly higher at 3.4 per cent for the current fiscal. For 2019-20, the government too retains the fiscal deficit at 3.4 per cent of the GDP.

"We would have maintained fiscal deficit at 3.3 per cent for the year 2018-19 and taken further steps to consolidate fiscal deficit in the year 2019-20. However, considering the need for income support to farmers we have provided Rs 20,000 crore in 2018-19 RE (Revised Estimate) and Rs 75,000 crore in 2019-20 BE (Budget Estimate)."

"If we exclude this, the fiscal deficit would have been less than 3.3 per cent for 2018-19 and less than 3.1 per cent for the year 2019-20," Goyal said while presenting the Interim Budget for 2019-20. From the high of almost 6 per cent seven years ago, he said, the fiscal deficit has been brought down to 3.4 per cent in 2018-19 RE.

(With inputs from agencies.)