Sitharaman rules out fiscal slippage

FM says FY25 target of 4.8% will be met; debt-to-GDP brought down to 57.4%

- MONIKA YADAV

The government's debt is being managed well and the fiscal deficit will not slip out of control, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Sunday during an interaction with the Indian diaspora in San Francisco.

"There is just no question of the fiscal deficit going out of control. If anything, the glide path that was given is being followed very sincerely. This year, in the RE (revised estimates for FY25), we said we would touch 4.8 (per cent of gross domestic product, or GDP). That will be achieved. In the coming year (FY26), we should go below 4.5 (per cent of GDP)."

Sitharaman's comment comes at a time when forecasting agencies have reduced their FY26 growth estimates for India amid growing global uncertainties, with some economists projecting a short-fall in government revenues.