No extra borrowing in the current year: Finance Ministry

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: The finance ministry asserted its commitment to containing fiscal deficit by sticking to its borrowing target for the year despite it being at over 50 per cent of the budget four months into the year. But economists speculate that an increase may come a few months close to the end of the fiscal.


“We will complete second half borrowing by end of February... we will try to keep fiscal deficit target,” said Arvind Mayaram, secretary at the Department of Economic Affairs.

“The government will borrow Rs 2 lakh crore in the remaining period of the current fiscal.” The government budgeted to borrow Rs 5.7 lakh crore this fiscal, or 5.1 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product, including repayments. In the first six months, it has borrowed Rs 3.7 lakh crores so far.

“Borrowing will be higher than their (government’s) estimates,” said Samiran Chakraborty, head, India research. “It is pretty similar to what happened last year. There are still quite a few items that it may not have an estimate for in terms of receipts like the divestment or 2G auction.”

The recent rise in diesel prices could bring the exchequer about Rs 20,000 crore and disinvestment in four PSUs could bring about Rs 22,000 crore, while telecom licensing, is expected to bring in about upwards of Rs 35,000 crore.

Finance ministry officials, however, are expecting proceeds from disinvestment and spectrum to overshoot the budget estimate of Rs 30,000 crore and Rs 40,000 crore from spectrum sale.





If the government sticks to its promise of fiscal discipline and does not borrow additionally, it may help soften interest rates. “The front-loading of borrowing was done as part of its strategy to make available capital to private sector in the last six months of 2012-13...The government is committed to go on path of fiscal consolidation,” Mayaram said.

On a net basis, the government has budgeted a total borrowing of Rs 5.14 lakh crore in the current year. But the general expectation is that the fiscal deficit will be about 5.6 per cent -5.7 per cent for the year, implying an additional borrowing of Rs 40,000-Rs 50,000 crore.

As per the second half borrowing calender, the government would complete its borrowing by February 15. This will give the government a 45-day window to conduct any additional borrowing if it faces any shortfall at the end of the fiscal.