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Budget preparation to start on Oct 29
October 13, 2003 19:30 IST
The pre-budget exercise is scheduled to begin after Diwali holidays, from October 29, with Finance Minister Jaswant Singh starting consultations with various government departments.
Official sources told PTI that the consultations would stretch for nearly a month till the winter session of Parliament that is expected to begin on December 3.
Singh has a tough job ahead -- blending hard reforms with populist measures in the face of general elections of next year.
Though the economy is looking up after good monsoon and industrial upturn, there are areas of concerns like fiscal deficit, falling tax-GDP ratio, mounting subsidies and slowing reforms.
Analysts feel the Budget would have to lay stress on fiscal consolidation, removing infrastructure bottlenecks and sustaining growth, particularly in agriculture sector.
Ministry officials said the implementation of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act would be for first time reflected in the next Budget.
Along with this, the government would also guage the success of cash management system introduced this year while assessing the savings from debt swap scheme for state loans, prepayment of costly foreign loans and the buyback of G-Secs from banks and financial institutions.