Budget today, falling deficit signals revival

Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 17

Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal will be beaming with confidence as he presents his Budget proposals for 2019-20 on Monday. After two Budgets that he has presented for the Capt Amarinder Singh government, his third Budget proposals are expected to finally give some positive direction to the state’s sagging economy.

Sources in the Finance Department told The Tribune that the Budget, which also reveals the fiscal performance of the government in 2018-19, would show that the state had managed to stem the fiscal deficit and revenue deficit at much lower level than what was projected in the Budget 2018 estimates.

The government had targeted its fiscal deficit at Rs 21,220.01 crore and revenue deficit Rs 14,039.41 crore. The fiscal indicators for the year in the first three quarters (April to December) are indicative of the deficits being controlled — fiscal deficit is Rs 11,079.14 crore (52 percent of the estimate) and revenue deficit Rs 8,822.83 crore (62 per cent of the target).

With results for January pouring in and just two months left for the financial year to end, it looks certain that the deficit will be much less than what was projected. By cutting down on expenditure and with the imposition of two new taxes in the ongoing financial year, the FM seems to have stopped the downward slide of the Punjab economy.

Manpreet is also expected to give a direction in his Budget on how he can revive the economy. During the ongoing year, he has managed to restrict spending at just 54.67 percent (Rs 47,207.45 crore) of the total spending that was targeted (Rs 86,351.26 crore). The FM is likely to announce that this year, the state is in primary surplus (after leaving the huge debt burden).

With deficits being reduced, it will leave enough room for the FM to announce higher allocation for agriculture (mainly crop loan waiver scheme and for crop diversification); irrigation, enforcement of law and order; increase state investment in public transport, besides making allocations for canal-based drinking water supply to Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Patiala.

For employees, budget provisioning is likely to be there for new pay scales, to be implemented by the Sixth Pay Commission and for regularising the services of employees. Provisioning for health and education sectors is also expected to see a substantial rise.

Sources say the focus of the Budget proposals will also be on the youth, giving them employment opportunities and increasing allocation for distributing smartphones, a poll promise of the ruling Congress.