Despite the setback for the NDA in the Bihar elections, the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre has decided to continue with its economic reforms, and focus on measures for additional revenue generation as it tries to bridge the fiscal deficit without a contraction in its spending.
At the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA) meeting on Monday the key ministers of the government including Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, decided to reach out to Opposition parties to push through key reform Bills in the Winter Session of Parliament that will be convened between November 26 and December 23.
Underlining that the Bihar Assembly verdict only reflected the mood of the people in the State and should not be considered as “a mandate to stall the functioning of Parliament”, said Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu. He urged Opposition parties to support pending economic Bills including the Constitutional Amendment Bill for the goods and services tax (GST) and the real estate regulator Bill.
“Development of Bihar and that of India are interlinked and are mutually reinforcing. The legislative initiatives under consideration of Parliament are equally crucial for Bihar in as much as for other States,” said the Minister, adding that the government is willing to address the concerns of Opposition parties on the Bills.
With a target of April 1, 2016 for the roll out of GST, the government must ensure passage of the Constitutional Amendment Bill for the indirect tax reform in the forthcoming Parliament Session. The option of an executive order for the introduction of GST would only be considered if the Bill fails to go through in the Session, said a Finance Ministry official.
The Monsoon Session of Parliament did not see much legislative business with Opposition Parties stalling proceedings over allegations of corruption involving three senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
PSU dividends
Meanwhile, to get the government’s finances right the Finance Ministry has prodded public sector firms for a higher dividend payout in order to tide over a shortfall of about ₹30,000 crore in disinvestment receipts. The issue was discussed at a meeting with heads of public sector units last month.
Interestingly, on November 6, a day after the end of polling in Bihar, the government took a number of hard decisions to increase its revenue collections.
Measures such as a higher excise duty on petrol and diesel, the levy of a 0.5 per cent Swachh Bharat cess on all taxable services and doubling of railway cancellation fees have been introduced. These are expected to raise an additional ₹14,000 crore this fiscal.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has stressed that the government will not cut expenditure this fiscal to meet the fiscal deficit target of 3.9 per cent of the GDP.
CCPA also decided on holding separate special sittings of both the Houses of Parliament will be held on the first two days of Winter session to discuss issues relating to ‘Commitment to the Constitution’ as part of 125th birth anniversary celebration of Bhim Rao Ambedkar.
November 26 will be observed as ‘Constitution Day’ commemorating the acceptance of Draft Constitution.