08-26-2005, 01:04 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Tighten belts, now </b>
The Pioneer Edit Desk
The results of the First Quarter show that there has been a healthy rise in revenue receipts over the corresponding period of last year. But <b>the revenue deficit has increased from Rs 46,311 crore to Rs 46,394 crore</b>.
The review says that the non-plan expenditure has come down from 20.10 per cent last year to 18.7 per cent this year. Yet, there is<b> no plan of action in place to manage subsidies and raise resources </b>in order to meet the objectives of the common minimum programme of the UPA Government. <b>The fiscal deficit has risen to 36.1 per cent of the budgeted Rs 1.51 lakh crore compared to 30.3 per cent last year</b>.
Even so, the government claims everything is kosher. How is the public to believe this when a price rise of petroleum is round the corner, inflation (4.1 per cent) already galloping and dividend earnings from the oil majors dwindling? The Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, meanwhile, is admitted as the most daunting fiscal challenge ever faced by the country. Doubtless, this will have an impact on capital expenditure and the 35 per cent slash reflected in the Q1 results may be just advance notice.
The long and short of it all is that the UPA, in its 15th month, is still guided by polemics and unsure about direction. Its powerlessness to assert itself in the face of Leftist pressure is evident from the statement of the Prime Minister, who publicly pleaded with the Left for latitude by consistency. He has reminded them of the caricature of the Left's position on disinvestment put on international display now by the West Bengal Chief Minister. <b>A seven per cent growth rate can hardly be achieved if the scoring of narrow political points becomes the obsession of men who are supposed to rule</b>. The decision to call off strategic sales in 13 Navaratnas is likely to result in the exchequer losing at least Rs 8,400 crore. The outlook, therefore, is definitely not rosy.
At first sight the only redeeming feature is Finance Minister P Chidambaram's decision to present an Outcome Budget setting targets for each ministry and department. This is a laudable initiative, because by placing physical targets for each branch of Government, a process of internal audit would be placed. Ministers can no longer get away with claims of how much money they have spent under each head.
Henceforth, they will have to reveal exactly how many highways have been repaired or constructed and whether the funds released under education, or health or ports have translated into tangible gains for the country. An exercise of this sort, if implemented honestly, may plug leakages and diversions. Eventually, it might also be possible to know exactly how much is the burden of carrier costs.
The old policy of passing sweeping cuts on "Government spending" was like putting the cart before the horse. But one of the first steps that can bring credibility to the process is by making public which of the states are flouting the system of producing utilisation certificates. Transparency, as Mr Manmohan Singh knows, is the chief underpinning of any credible economic reforms programme. States which are undermining fiscal prudence should be told to behave for the sake of the UPA's credibility.
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The Pioneer Edit Desk
The results of the First Quarter show that there has been a healthy rise in revenue receipts over the corresponding period of last year. But <b>the revenue deficit has increased from Rs 46,311 crore to Rs 46,394 crore</b>.
The review says that the non-plan expenditure has come down from 20.10 per cent last year to 18.7 per cent this year. Yet, there is<b> no plan of action in place to manage subsidies and raise resources </b>in order to meet the objectives of the common minimum programme of the UPA Government. <b>The fiscal deficit has risen to 36.1 per cent of the budgeted Rs 1.51 lakh crore compared to 30.3 per cent last year</b>.
Even so, the government claims everything is kosher. How is the public to believe this when a price rise of petroleum is round the corner, inflation (4.1 per cent) already galloping and dividend earnings from the oil majors dwindling? The Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, meanwhile, is admitted as the most daunting fiscal challenge ever faced by the country. Doubtless, this will have an impact on capital expenditure and the 35 per cent slash reflected in the Q1 results may be just advance notice.
The long and short of it all is that the UPA, in its 15th month, is still guided by polemics and unsure about direction. Its powerlessness to assert itself in the face of Leftist pressure is evident from the statement of the Prime Minister, who publicly pleaded with the Left for latitude by consistency. He has reminded them of the caricature of the Left's position on disinvestment put on international display now by the West Bengal Chief Minister. <b>A seven per cent growth rate can hardly be achieved if the scoring of narrow political points becomes the obsession of men who are supposed to rule</b>. The decision to call off strategic sales in 13 Navaratnas is likely to result in the exchequer losing at least Rs 8,400 crore. The outlook, therefore, is definitely not rosy.
At first sight the only redeeming feature is Finance Minister P Chidambaram's decision to present an Outcome Budget setting targets for each ministry and department. This is a laudable initiative, because by placing physical targets for each branch of Government, a process of internal audit would be placed. Ministers can no longer get away with claims of how much money they have spent under each head.
Henceforth, they will have to reveal exactly how many highways have been repaired or constructed and whether the funds released under education, or health or ports have translated into tangible gains for the country. An exercise of this sort, if implemented honestly, may plug leakages and diversions. Eventually, it might also be possible to know exactly how much is the burden of carrier costs.
The old policy of passing sweeping cuts on "Government spending" was like putting the cart before the horse. But one of the first steps that can bring credibility to the process is by making public which of the states are flouting the system of producing utilisation certificates. Transparency, as Mr Manmohan Singh knows, is the chief underpinning of any credible economic reforms programme. States which are undermining fiscal prudence should be told to behave for the sake of the UPA's credibility.
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