In a bid to reduce the fiscal deficit, the Union government has cut down on expenditure that has led to welfare schemes and capital expenditure being curtailed and this would negatively impact future growth and economic fundamentals, the CPI(M) said critiquing the 2024 Interim Budget.
The Union Budget, the CPI(M) Polit Bureau said in a statement here, reveals the grim economic situation confronting India’s working class. As per the Budget tabled in Parliament on Thursday, the revenue receipts in 2023-24 exceeded the budget estimates and grew by 13.3 per cent compared to the previous year.
Citing these figures, the Polit Bureau said that Central government expenditures have been squeezed below budget estimates in order to reduce the fiscal deficit. These expenditures have grown by only 7 per cent, less than even the nominal growth of GDP, which is officially expected to be 8.9 per cent. This shortfall in expenditure has taken place despite the establishment expenditure of the government being higher than budgeted. “The axe has, therefore, fallen on expenditures on welfare schemes as well as on capital expenditure. This will negatively impact future growth and economic fundamentals,” the party said.
