The Centre will keep strict vigil to ensure that funds allocated for development programmes under Plan side expenditures do not remain parked at the level of implementing agencies.
This is reflected in the statement on quarterly review of the trends in receipts and expenditure in relation to the budget at the end of first quarter of 2012-13.
Simply put, the Centre will focus on ensuring that the welfare programme funds are spent properly and reach the intended beneficiaries.
Finance Minister P. Chidambaram tabled this quarterly review statement in the Lok Sabha today.
The assurance on the Plan side comes even as the Government had already issued austerity instructions to contain non-Plan expenditure.
The quarterly review noted that the first quarter results are in line with the Budget estimates. However, there are challenges the Government would have to face in meeting its fiscal targets.
“The tax receipts are broadly in line with the budget estimates and need to be monitored closely. Major challenges lies in the one-time receipts anticipated in form of non tax revenues and non-debt capital receipts.”
Challenge
The first challenge would be on economic growth. The less than projected growth in the first quarter may have an adverse impact on the tax receipts of the Centre. Other important macro-economic parameters that need to be closely observed are the exchange rate and inflation, the quarterly review said.
Budget 2012-13 had fixed the fiscal deficit target at 5.1 per cent of GDP as compared to 5.8 per cent of GDP observed in 2012-13. The target now stands revised to 5.3 per cent.
Since the Government missed the fiscal deficit target of 4.6 per cent in 2011-12 and finally ended at 5.8 per cent, it was very important for Government to keep a continuous and credible but ambitious target for the fiscal deficit in 2012-13.