JOIN USPrime Minister Narendra Modi is understood to have conveyed to his ministers that each one of them must think of ways to shore up government finances as revenue generation is not the job of the Finance Ministry alone.
This comes in the wake of weak revenue collection so far even as the current fiscal year is nearing its end.
Modi is also believed to have cautioned ministries and departments against indulging in expensive media advertisements in order to check the unfettered rise in government expenditure.
Sources said the prime minister has issued such instructions as revenue targets at this juncture were looking tough.
“Although tax and non-tax revenues are expected to show some improvement in the fourth (January-March) quarter, the government does not want to leave anything to chance,” the sources said.
The caution from the prime minister comes close on the heels of the Supreme Court seeking the Centre’s response to a report which has suggested that the government must be seriously hemmed in with guidelines for how many newspaper advertisements they can place.
The apex court-appointed committee also recommended that advertisements must not “glorify politicians in power”.
Certain PILs filed in the Supreme Court have alleged that everyday crores of rupees were being spent on political advisements.
Tax collections were up only 6.5 per cent of the GDP on a cumulative basis in the first seven months of the financial year, much lower than the budgeted growth of 17.7 per cent, according to estimates.
Non-tax revenue collection, too, has not picked up in the absence of desired disinvestment proceeds and spectrum sale. The government, however, is banking on windfalls from collapsing global crude oil prices, telecom spectrum and coal block auctions to shore up non-tax revenues.
The government expects to mop up close to Rs 16,000 crore from spectrum auction in the current financial year. Raising excise duty on petrol and diesel and withdrawal of the same on automobiles and white goods is also expected to strengthen the government’s fiscal position.
The spending by various ministries have also been slow, which is expected to help the government work out its fiscal arithmetic. The government has also enforced austerity measures, cutting down on foreign travel and conferences in five-star hotels among other steps.
The delayed rollout of the Food Security Act, too, is a positive step, according to experts.