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NEW DELHI/MUMBAI (Reuters) - Having fired up hopes for populist measures with talk of delivering a “budget like never before”, India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will need to find credible sources for additional revenue from a pandemic sickened economy.
FILE PHOTO: A man walks along a wall overlooking the central Mumbai s financial district skyline, India, March 9, 2017. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui
Government borrowing is already bumping against the ceiling, revenues are severely dampened and the fiscal deficit is expected to have ballooned on account of pandemic spending.
“It will be hard for the finance minister to find resources. But she will get some help from the economic revival that will likely increase some tax revenue,” said N.R. Bhanumurthy, economist and vice chancellor at Bengaluru-based B.R Ambedkar School of Economics.
Government borrowing is already bumping against the ceiling, revenues are severely dampened and the fiscal deficit is expected to have ballooned on account of pandemic spending.
Analysis: Making Virus Crisis Budget, India Needs to Spend but Funds May Fall Short
A senior government official involved in planning for the 2021/22Â budget rued the revenues lost at the start of the current fiscal year, and doubted they could be clawed back.
FILE PHOTO: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman holds budget papers as she leaves her office to present the federal budget in the parliament in New Delhi, India, Feb. 1, 2020. Photo: Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis/File photo
New Delhi/Mumbai: Having fired up hopes for populist measures with talk of delivering a “budget like never before”, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will need to find credible sources for additional revenue from a pandemic sickened economy.