The Government expects double-digit growth by the fourth quarter (January -March) of the current fiscal 2018-19, interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said here today.
He also said that Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council may discuss bringing petrol and diesel at its next meeting.
"GST Council has to take a call on bringing petroleum products under GST. May be in next meeting a discussion could take place," Goyal said while addressing the Growth Net 6.0 conference organised here by industry body CII.
He also mentioned that the matter was discussed earlier but no concensus emerged. At present five petroleum products - crude oil, petrol, diesel, natural gas, and aircraft fuel (ATF) are out of GST. Although, there is no constitutional debarment, the GST Council has to decide on the date from which these products to be brought under GST.
The Government is committed to meet the fiscal deficit target of 3.3 per cent for the current fiscal, Goyal said.
The Government will maintain economic stability and meet all economic parameters, he said. “I can assure that we will meet the fiscal deficit target of 3.3 per cent, despite this being an election year,” Goyal said.
Fiscal deficit stood at 3.53 per cent of GDP, broadly in line with the government’s revised estimates for 2017-18. The revenue deficit was 2.65 per cent of GDP. In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit was Rs 5.91 lakh crore, or 99.5 per cent, of the Budget estimates.
The government, in the Budget in February, had revised the fiscal deficit target for 2017-18 to 3.5 per cent from the earlier estimate of 3.2 per cent.
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