India on track to achieve target of 4.5 pc fiscal deficit by FY26: FM Sitharaman

NEW DELHI — Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said that the government is well on track to achieve the target of 4.5 per cent fiscal deficit by 2025-26.

In her reply to the debate on the Union Budget in the Rajya Sabha, FM Sitharaman said that from 2026-27 onwards, “We will adhere to a path to ensure that the central government debt as a percentage of GDP is at a declining trend.”

“The government has always maintained fiscal prudence as one of the important governance principles. From the low levels of GDP during the Covid-19 pandemic, India has become the fastest-growing economy,” said the Finance Minister.

The Finance Minister told the Rajya Sabha that the total expenditure in the Budget is at INR 48.21 lakh crore — INR 54,744 crore more than the interim Budget.

“Capex allocation during the 10 years of UPA government was INR 13.19 lakh crore, while in the 10 years of BJP-led NDA till 2024, it was INR 43.82 lakh crore,” FM Sitharaman informed.

Agriculture and allied sectors in the Budget 2024-2025 received INR 1.52 lakh crore, which is INR 8,000 crore more than the last year.

“In comparison, in the 2013-14 Budget, when the UPA government term was over, they had given only INR 30,000 crore,” the Finance Minister stated.

FM Sitharaman said the country now produces 97 per cent of mobile phones within the country and 30 per cent of the total production of mobile phones in the year 2023-24 was export-oriented.

“We are working towards establishing three centres of excellence in top education institutions for realising the vision of making AI in India and make AI work for India,” the Finance Minister said.

The Finance Minister said the Budget balances growth, employment, welfare spending, capital investments and fiscal consolidation.

The Lok Sabha on Tuesday approved the INR 48.21 lakh crore Union Budget for 2024-25 aimed at giving a major push to job creation and improving the incomes of farmers.