The government will find it difficult to meet the fiscal deficit target of 3.4 per cent in 2019-20 on account on higher spending and low revenue growth, Moody’s Investors Service said.
Observing that Indian government’s debt is “stubbornly high” as a percentage of GDP, Moody’s Investors Service Managing Director, Sovereign Risk Group, Gene Fang said it could be brought down only if the Centre sticks to the fiscal consolidation path.
Deviating from the path laid down in the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, the government has pegged the fiscal deficit for the next financial year at 3.4 per cent of GDP, as against the original target of 3.1 per cent.
“While the government’s growth assumptions appear reasonable, we think the government will continue to face challenges in meeting its fiscal targets, primarily due to structural increases in spending and difficulties in raising revenue further,” Fang told agencies in an interview.
Fang said the 3.4 per cent fiscal deficit target for the year ending March 2020 is wider than expected, largely driven by increased spending to provide income support to small farmers and tax rebates ahead of the general elections in April-May this year.
The Interim Budget for 2019-20 doled out a scheme under which farmers holding up to 2 hectares of land would get an annual payout of Rs 6,000 — a move intended to benefit about 12 crore farmers, among other measures for middle-class taxpayers.
However, there was a 0.1 per cent slip in the fiscal deficit estimate for the current financial year to 3.4 per cent.
While presenting the Budget, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal had said the government has provided Rs 20,000 crore in 2018-19 and Rs 75,000 crore in 2019-20 for providing income support to farmers, which has led to the slippage in the fiscal deficit.
Asked if India risks a rating downgrade following the breach in fiscal deficit target, Moody’s said the country’s ‘Baa2’ rating has a ‘Stable’ outlook, which indicates a balance of upside and downside risks.
