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Finance Minister Arun Jaitley To Return From US To Present Budget, Say Sources
21 Jan 2019, 09:19 AM IST 
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had earlier this month gone to the US for treatment
- The minister, 66, is expected to present this government's last budget on February 1 before Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks a second term in a general election due by May.
- From a widened fiscal deficit to shrinking Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections, the government faces a number of challenges as it plans the income and expenses for the coming months.
- The economy has logged growth rates of 8.2 per cent and 7.1 per cent in the first and second quarters of fiscal year 2018-19 respectively. The government estimates GDP growth at 7.2 per cent in financial year 2018-19, lower than the central bank's estimate of 7.4 per cent.
- Fiscal deficit - the amount of money by which a government's expenses in a year exceed its revenue - has already crossed the full-year estimate by more than 15 per cent in first nine months of 2018-19. Economists say the pressure on government finances is mainly arising from the revenue side, particularly indirect taxes.
- In the interim budget, the farm credit target is likely to be raised by about 10 per cent to a record Rs 12 lakh crore, news agency Press Trust of India reported citing sources. For the current fiscal year, the government has set a credit target of Rs 11 lakh crore.
- Credit is a critical input in achieving higher farm output. Institutional credit will also help delink farmers from non-institutional sources where they are compelled to borrow at usurious rates of interest, the sources added.
- The government has said the country has the potential to be a $5-trillion economy in 7-8 years. Commerce and Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu said last week that his department had prepared a roadmap to make this possible by focusing on manufacturing, service sector and agriculture.
- Till 2016, the Union Budget used to be presented on the last working day of February, but Finance Minister Arun Jaitley changed that tradition in 2017 when the budget was tabled on February 1.
- This budget will be the last before the Lok Sabha polls.
- The parliament will meet from January 31 to February 13 for the budget session.
(With agency inputs)