Staring at a fiscal deficit of ₹44,176 crore, Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister O. Panneerselvam has shied away from unveiling a populist Budget in an election year.
The Budget presented by him on Friday focussed more on tightening the finances. The fiscal deficit will be 2.56% of the Gross State Domestic Product, below the threshold of 3% mandated by the Fiscal Responsibility Budget Management (FRBM) Act norms, he said.
Mr. Panneerselvam told the Assembly that the fiscal consolidation would be achieved by limiting borrowings to a level below the ceiling fixed by the Central government and an expected increase in the State’s Own Tax Revenues (SOTR), thereby bringing down the revenue deficit.