StanChart Sees India Charting Course to a Tighter Budget

India will seek to narrow its budget deficit next financial year, amid expectations of improved revenue collections and economic rebound, according to Standard Chartered Bank Plc.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will likely target fiscal deficit -- the gap between income and expenditure -- at 5.3% of gross domestic product in the budget for the year starting April 1, the bank’s Chief South Asia economist Anubhuti Sahay wrote in a report to clients. That will be slimmer than the current year’s number, which Standard Chartered expects to be 6.7% of GDP, or even as high as 8.4% if factoring in off-budget spending to help the economy shake off the pandemic fallout.