Government confident of achieving targets set in Budget 2021-22: DEA secretary Tarun Bajaj

India will be able to adhere to the budgeted fiscal deficit target of 6.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) for FY22 and it could also be lower than the target, Economic Affairs Secretary Tarun Bajaj said.

"Our revenue figures for this time are understated and overstated. So we have taken our nominal GDP at 14.4 percent and the revenues at 16.7. The buoyancy is only 1.16. We are hopeful that we will be able to get more than this and also achieve more in the other areas of non-tax revenue and disinvestment. We will definitely be within 6.8 percent and could be lower," Bajaj said at a post-Budget press conference.

The government has set a gross tax revenue target of Rs 22.17 lakh crore for FY22 in the Union Budget 2021-22 presented on February 1. The Centre's net tax revenue for FY22 has been pegged at Rs 15.45 lakh crore.

The Budget document showed the Revised Estimates (RE) for gross revenue collection for FY21 came in at Rs 19 lakh crore, against the Budget Estimates (BE) of Rs 24.23 lakh crore. The RE for net tax revenue for FY21 came in at Rs 13.44 lakh crore, against the BE of Rs 16.35 lakh crore.

Presenting the Budget in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the Centre is targeting a fiscal deficit of 6.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) for FY22, which will gradually come down to below 4.5 percent by FY26. This will require amendments to the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, she said.

For FY21, the revised fiscal deficit estimate now stands at 9.5 percent of GDP, from a budgeted estimate of 3.5 percent. The total expenditure size for FY21 now stands at 34.5 lakh crore, up from Rs 30.4 lakh crore planned.

Bajaj also said the Indian government is borrowing money to hugely invest into infrastructure so it will not have an inflationary impact. He also said India would be entering the global indices in the coming year for borrowings.

On being asked if the government would take more steps to give a boost to economic growth, Bajaj said the government was going by the policy of dil maange more.