Rs 25,000-crore fiscal deficit slippage likely
The Centre appears to be more or less reconciled to a one percentage point slippage in its fiscal deficit target of 4.7 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) during the current fiscal. According to senior Finance Ministry officials, under the “worst case” scenario, the Centre’s gross tax revenues would fall short of the Budget estimate by around Rs 16,000 crore. Of this, roughly Rs 6,000 crore would be on account of customs and Rs 4,000 crore each under the excise and direct taxes heads.
Panel favours TRAI-like body for Railways
The Rakesh Mohan panel on Indian Railways has pushed for a radical reforms package — encompassing strategic high growth, tariff re-balancing, corporatisation and revamp of the Railway Board, recast of railway accounts into company format prior to corporatisation, establishment of a regulatory authority on the lines of TRAI — to make it a financially-viable organisation. The recommendations in the final report on Indian Railways 'Policy imperatives for reinvention and growth," to be laid in Parliament shortly, are nevertheless on predictable lines.
'Evasion-prone' commodities come under microscope
The Finance Ministry has placed close to a dozen commodities — including cotton yarn, man-made fabrics, aerated water, tobacco products, cosmetics, motor vehicle parts and air- conditioners — in its internal watch-h'st of "evasion-prone" items, after a recent review of commodity-wise excise collection trends. The production trends, pattern of clearances and credit utilisation of units manufacturing these items will be under scrutiny, following reports of clandestine removal, misuse of Modvat credit and undervaluation.