SME Times News Bureau | 15 Apr, 2019
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das recently said that
India’s gross fiscal deficit is on the expected lines and adhering to budgetary
targets.
Speaking earlier this week while speaking at the "Governor
Talks" event organised on the sidelines of the World Bank-International
Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring Meetings in Washington DC, the RBI governor added that
the current account deficit is expected to be around 2.5 per cent of the GDP in
2018-19.
The statement is the first official confirmation at a senior level of the
government achieving the fiscal deficit target of 3.4 per cent in the previous
fiscal 2018-19.
The Controller General of Accounts (CGA) normally releases the fiscal deficit
figures of the previous fiscal by May 15.
Das also said the country's current account deficit (CAD) in 2018-19 is
expected to come in at around 2.5 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP).
According to the government, India's balance of payment situation eased mainly
on account of falling global oil prices.
RBI, while deciding its rate of interest, also takes into account these macro
data indicators of the Finance Ministry.
Earlier this month, the RBI cut the repo, or its short-term lending rate for
commercial banks, by 25 basis points to 6 per cent, and lowered the current
fiscal's GDP growth forecast to 7.2 per cent.
"The rate cut is in consonance of achieving the medium term objective of
maintaining inflation at the 4 per cent level while supporting growth,"
the statement, announcing the RBI's first bi-monthly monetary policy review of
the fiscal, said.