Government to borrow ₹4.34 trillion in H2 as planned in May
1 min read 30 Sep 2020, 05:58 PM ISTOf the estimated ₹12 trillion borrowing for the full year, the government has already borrowed ₹7.66 lakh crores, which accounts for 63.8% of the target. With the economy opening up from June, there has been an improvement in revenue
PremiumNEW DELHI: The central government on Wednesday said it will borrow ₹4.34 trillion in the second half of the fiscal, sticking to its ₹12 trillion borrowing plan for the whole year as decided in May.
Economic affairs secretary Tarun Bajaj, at a briefing, said the borrowing target was raised to ₹12 trillion in May from the originally budgeted figure of ₹7.6 trillion keeping in mind the economic fallout of the covid-19 pandemic and the decision was to stick to this as per current estimates.
Bajaj said of the estimated ₹12 trillion borrowing for the full year, the government has already borrowed ₹7.66 lakh crores, which accounts for 63.8% of the target.
With the opening up of the economy from June, there has been an improvement in revenue and the government has done some expenditure prioritisation. "We have decided to continue with the same figure of ₹12 trillion for the total year. Which means our borrowing for second would be ₹4.34 lakh crore or 36.1% of the 12 trillion to be borrowed for whole year," Bajaj added.
The government clearly does not wish to crowd out private sector which might need to borrow as they continue to recover from the impact of covid-19 in the third and fourth quarters.
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