Govt may resort to tested ways to meet fiscal deficit target of 3.3% of GDP

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has publicly committed to meet the fiscal deficit target without compromising on capital expenditure

The government is facing an increasingly uphill task in meeting the fiscal deficit target of 3.3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) for 2018-19, at a time when the shortfall in goods and service tax could be around Rs 1 trillion, and any gains in direct taxes and other revenue sources may not be enough to make up for that.

To ensure that the target is met, the Centre will resort to time-tested methods of rolling over additional subsidy burden, taking back unspent amounts from ministries, converting certain expenditure entries as advance, and running down the cash reserves, officials