Delightful, but tourism sector needs attention

Not worrying much about fiscal deficit in order to raise funds, the government has shown huge boldness in reforms,” said Banerjee in the latest edition of e-expressions.
Though the tourism industry was hit by the pandemic, the influx of tourists has increased slightly this month, owing to holidays. 
Though the tourism industry was hit by the pandemic, the influx of tourists has increased slightly this month, owing to holidays. 

A phenomenal focus of the Centre on growth was a delight for Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General at Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). “The government has betted on growth and this has been across the spectrum of the Budget.

This Budget for the first time speaks of privatisation and not just disinvestment. Not worrying much about fiscal deficit in order to raise funds, the government has shown huge boldness in reforms,” said Banerjee in the latest edition of e-expressions.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech said the government will borrow about Rs 12 lakh crore in FY22, adding that the expenditure for the next fiscal has been pegged at Rs 34.83 lakh crore, which includes Rs 5.54 lakh crore of capital expenditure.

The fiscal deficit for FY21 is pegged at 9.5% of GDP which is significantly higher than previous estimations. According to the FM, deficit will come down to 6.8% in FY22. However, these numbers are significantly higher than previous year deficits. India’s fiscal deficit had widened to 4.6% of GDP in FY20 from 3.4% in FY19. 

On asked where the Rs 12 lakh crore borrowing would come from, Banerjee said besides raising funds via privatisation and disinvestment, there is a need today and the need itself would help with implementation. He added that there are certain critical areas for immediate intervention. “One is deepening the recovery, catapulting demand and improving credibility, and employment generation which is the most effective way to achieve inclusive growth.”

On asked what was missed in the Budget, Banerjee said there are certain sectors such as hospitality, tourism and aviation crying for help and there was nothing for them. According to him, a huge amount of payment is pending to the private sector, which needs to be settled. Banerjee feels that focus on rural infra, road construction and health needs to be nurtured as they have multiplying effect on economy and create a large number of jobs.

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