Parliament Diary

The Prime Minister replied to the Motion of Thanks debate on the President’s address in Parliament.

A general discussion on the 2020-21 Union Budget began in the Lok Sabha as well. 

Union Budget 2020-21: Are the fiscal targets realistic?

Our blog today analyses the government's revised estimates for the year 2019-20 as presented in the Budget on 1st Feb and compares it with the receipts collected or expenditure made so far (April-December 2019).

It shows that while the expenditure has reached 78% of the target so far, the government has been able to generate only Rs 11.8 lakh crore or 61% of the receipts for the year 2019-20 (excluding borrowings).

This implies that the government's receipts will have to grow at a rate of 41% in the three-month period January-March 2020 to meet the revised estimates of Rs 19.3 lakh crore.

So far, these receipts have grown at a much lower rate of 4%. 

For a detailed look at how the various receipts, expenditure, and deficit components fare vis-a-vis revised estimates, please read the full post. 

Coming up tomorrow:

• Kerala will present its budget. You can read our analysis of the previous year’s budget here.
   
• Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan is set to make a statement in the Lok Sabha on the government response to the Coronavirus outbreak.