Don’t need RBI’s reserves to meet fiscal deficit: Jaitley

TIL Desk/Business/New Delhi/ Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday made it clear that the government does not need RBI’s reserves to bridge the widening fiscal deficit as the Lok Sabha voted the Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2018-19 to the tune of Rs 85,948.86 crore, including Rs.41,000 crore for bank recapitalisation.

“This government’s fiscal deficit track record has been better than any other government in the history. We do not need RBI’s reserves for (meeting the) fiscal deficit,” he said replying to a brief debate on the demands. India’s fiscal deficit for the eight months till November stood at Rs 7.17 lakh crore, which is 114.8 per cent of the budgeted Rs 6.24 lakh crore.

The minister’s assertion comes against the backdrop of a raging debate over the government’s reported moves for securing the surplus reserves with the RBI, estimated to be around a few lakh crore of rupees, to fund government’s social welfare schemes ahead of the elections.