Fiscal Deficit Targets Will Be Achieved This Year: Jaitley

Encouraged by signs of a turnaround in the manufacturing sector, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has expressed hope that the fiscal deficit targets would be achieved this year. “Even though the revenues have been challenging due to slow manufacturing industry, now, it is turning around and it looks like we will be able to meet our fiscal targets,” he said.

The Modi government has set the fiscal deficit target at 4.1% of the GDP.

“Our currency is one of those two global currencies that withstood the might of the US dollar. Most of the global currencies are under pressure,” the finance minister added.

Jaitley said that the last week was a good learning experience for him. “The sense I got in last few days is that ordinarily everything is going well with India. From depressing slowdown in last two-three years, suddenly our growth rates are likely to look up,” he said.

On the contrary, the rival economies have not been performing so well. “Brazil faces a challenge, South Africa faces challenge. Europe is still struggling to come out of slowdown. China which has maintained a growth rate of over 9% over 3 decades is looking at new normal,” he said.