Why govt needs a fresh 20/20 vision for Budget 2020

The provisional actual numbers reveal revenue shortfall led to a wider fiscal deficit in 2019-20, but unlike the previous year, the gap was met largely through higher borrowing in a transparent manner

In just about four months, the government’s 2019-20 numbers on revenue and expenditure are looking far worse than what was revealed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman when she presented her Budget on February 1, 2020.
 
The sharp deterioration can be seen in the provisional actual numbers on government finances for 2019-20, released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) on Friday. The provisional actual numbers are unaudited, but past years’ records show that they undergo very little change before becoming actual numbers.
 
Note that Covid-19 and the lockdown have contributed only a little to the deterioration in these