Interim Budget 2019: FM has cheap crude oil to thank for his fiscal record

The Narendra Modi administration prides itself on its fiscal record. Since Finance Minister Arun Jaitley took charge in the North Block, the budgeted fiscal deficit as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) has come down from 4.1 per cent in 2014-15 to 3.3 per cent in 2018-19.
 
While in absolute terms, the current administration’s record has been better than the previous ones, two factors have led to this. One, the Modi government has been lucky compared to the Manmohan Singh government in terms of global macroeconomic conditions and oil prices. And two, it has resorted to off-budget financing,