The Union Budget 2016-17 will try to address the key challenges of the economy and given an impetus to growth, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das said on Monday.
“Given the fiscal parameters and other constraints, the effort of the government will be to have a Budget which is growth oriented and that will maintain the momentum of growth,” he said on the Finance Ministry’ YouTube channel.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will present the Union Budget in just a week’s time on February 29.
Das said that the government is committed to not only maintain the 7.6 per cent growth but also improve it. Higher growth will lead to job creation, more economic activities and development, he noted.
While declining to comment on the government’s expenditure plans and the fiscal deficit target for 2016-17, he said that the effort will be maintain a balancing act.
“A balance has to be found between the expenditure requirements and how much the government can borrow and the repayment capacity…the truth lies in the middle and the government has to do a balancing act,” he said.
Commenting on the global economic situation, Das said that the government expects that the volatility and uncertainty will remain in the medium term. “We can’t say when the volatility will settle down…out effort is to always remain prepared,” he said.