New Delhi : Faced with rising gap between revenue and expenditure, the government is likely to borrow an additional Rs 20,000 crore towards February-March to finance its fiscal deficit for 2012-13. “Any additional borrowing will be done towards February-March,” a senior Finance Ministry official told PTI.
The official further said that the government is currently borrowing Rs 20,000 crore every week from the markets. “Additional borrowing of Rs 20,000 crore can any way be done in one week. So, the timing will be decided towards the end of the fiscal after assessing the exact requirement,” the official added.
Budget 2012-13 pegged fiscal deficit at 5.1 % of GDP. However, in view of lower than expected revenue realistion and increased subsidy outgo, the Finance Ministry is expecting the fiscal deficit to rise to 5.3%. The official further said that cut in expenditure was subsumed at the time of preparation of budget and hence an increase in fiscal deficit would necessitate further borrowing. — PTI
