Every Budget number is accurate: FM

NEW DELHI: Dismissing charges of gaps in her Budget projections, finance minister Niramala Sitharaman on Wednesday said every number was accurate and promised to rein in fiscal deficit, without affecting government spending.
“I will assure the House there is no need for any speculation on figures given in Budget and every number is authentic,” she told the Lok Sabha. Some of the analysts had suggested that the fiscal numbers did not add up as GDP estimates varied in the Budget documents and the Economic Survey.
For 2019-20. the survey has projected a nominal GDP growth of 11% (without factoring in inflation) based on National Statistics Office’s provisional estimates released on May 31. In the Budget documents, the finance ministry has used the advance estimates numbers, released on January 7, to estimate nominal growth of 12% during the current financial year. This, Sitharaman said, was done for comparability with the interim Budget, which had used the advance estimates. “Both the projections (in the budget papers and Economic Survey) are consistent with each other,” the minister said while responding to discussions on the general Budget.
Describing her maiden Budget as the “big picture” of the new government and the strategy for next 10 years, Sitharaman said several steps, including higher infrastructure investment, FDI policy liberalisation and lowering of corporate tax for mid-sized companies were part of a plan to make India a $5 trillion economy.
The opposition parties — Congress, DMK, J&K National Conference, NCP and TMC — walked out during the minister’s reply. While Congress, DMK, NCP and National Conference walked out protesting against the increase in petrol and diesel cess in the Budget, Trinamool walked out a few minutes later, saying the minister failed to explain what does the ‘zero budget’ mean. Sitharaman, however, told the House that the Budget mentioned ‘zero budget’ in the context of farming (zero budget farming).
During the reply, some members objected to her statement when she said: “Even if I am mocked at, sometimes I spoke like a teacher to a class of students... And, even if that is not sufficient I am quite happy to receive members to room number 36 with due respect.” The comment came after she sought to explain some of the numbers in the Budget.