Economics
India Stocks Fall as Country Slashes Taxes, Widens Budget Deficit
- Fiscal deficit target widened to 3.8% of GDP for current year
- Stimulus wasn’t what markets were hoping for, says ANZ’s Sen
Nirmala Sitharaman and other members of the finance ministry stand outside parliament house in New Delhi, India, on Feb. 1.
Photographer: T. Narayan/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
India’s finance minister slashed taxes for individuals, scrapped a levy on dividends and widened budget deficit targets to help spur a slowing economy. The measures failed to cheer investors.
The government will miss its deficit goals for a third year, pushing the shortfall to 3.8% of gross domestic product from a planned 3.3% in the year ending March, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in Parliament in New Delhi Saturday. The deficit target for the coming fiscal year starting April 1 was widened to 3.5%.