India S Fiscal Policy

Cover -- India's Fiscal Policy -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgements -- Disclaimer -- Introduction: Contours of the Indian Fiscal Policy Debate -- Notes -- 1 Fiscal Policy in India Trends and Trajectory -- Introduction -- Basic concepts and analytical framework -- India's fiscal policy architecture -- Evolution of Indian fiscal policy till 1991 -- Liberalization, growth, inclusion and fiscal consolidation (1991-2008) -- Crisis and return to fiscal consolidation: The maturing of Indian fiscal policy -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- 2 Decentralization, Indirect Tax Reform and Fiscal Federalism in India -- Introduction -- Economic disparity across Indian states -- The GST and the role of the FC -- Some recent reforms in indirect taxation and their beneficial effects -- Some remaining issues with the indirect tax structure -- Agenda for indirect tax reform -- Structure of transfers from the central government to state governments -- FC transfers -- PC transfers -- Centrally sponsored schemes -- Transfers to PRIs and urban bodies -- Conclusions -- Notes -- References -- 3 Fiscal Implications of Energy Subsidies -- Introduction -- Petroleum subsidies -- Subsidies in the coal sector -- Subsidies in the power sector -- Renewable energy sector -- Conclusions -- Notes -- References -- 4 Fiscal Implications of Food Security in India: A Critical Review -- Introduction -- Concept of food security -- Fiscal policy and food security in India -- Food security policies in some countries -- Bangladesh -- Bhutan -- Maldives -- Nepal -- Pakistan -- Sri Lanka -- Review of food security policies in India -- On availability -- On access -- Antyodaya Anna Yojana -- On nutrition -- Integrated child development services -- Mid-day meal scheme -- Social security through MGNREGS -- NFSA, 2013: What are the macro-fiscal impacts?

India's economy has grown rapidly since the beginning of the 1990s despite a large and growing fiscal deficit and rising public levels relative to output. This book explores whether India has found a way to reconcile sustained expansionary fiscal policies with relative macroeconomic stability.

Addresses Issues Such As-Sustainablity Of Fiscal Deficits, The Role Of Tax Enhancing Measures, Cuts In Government Spacing, The Impact Of Government Spacing On Economic Growth And The Agenda For Policy Makers In The Future. Contains 12 Papers.

The sizeable increase in income inequality experienced in advanced economies and many parts of the world since the 1990s and the severe consequences of the global economic and financial crisis have brought distributional issues to the top of the policy agenda. The challenge for many governments is to address concerns over rising inequality while simultaneously promoting economic efficiency and more robust economic growth. The book delves into this discussion by analyzing fiscal policy and its link with inequality. Fiscal policy is the government’s most powerful tool for addressing inequality. It affects households ‘consumption directly (through taxes and transfers) and indirectly (via incentives for work and production and the provision of public goods and individual services such as education and health). An important message of the book is that growth and equity are not necessarily at odds; with the appropriate mix of policy instruments and careful policy design, countries can in many cases achieve better distributional outcomes and improve economic efficiency. Country studies (on the Netherlands, China, India, Republic of Congo, and Brazil) demonstrate the diversity of challenges across countries and their differing capacity to use fiscal policy for redistribution. The analysis presented in the book builds on and extends work done at the IMF, and also includes contributions from leading academics.

This book traces the evolution of fiscal policy in India during the post-Independence period and describes its present structure. It is designed to interest a cross-section of readership, viz. teachers and students of economics, commerce, law, public administration, and will also serve the needs of legislators, business executives, entrepreneurs and investors, and others interested in money inflows and outflows of the Central and State Governments in India.

When India's economy faced an unprecedented macroeconomic crisis in 1991, fiscal consolidation constituted a major objective of the policy response. For this purpose, it became necessary to enhance tax and non-tax revenue, curtail current expenditure growth, restructure public sector undertakings, improve fiscal-monetary co-ordination, and deregulate financial system. The need for improvements in budgetary practices led to the enactment of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2003, which ushered the Indian economy into an era of fiscal consolidation based on fiscal policy rules. The passage of the Constitution (Seventy-Third Amendment) Act, 1992 marked a watershed in the history of modern India. With this amendment, a uniform structure of panchayats (village councils) emerged throughout the country. Similarly, the passage of the Constitution (Seventy-Fourth Amendment) Act, 1992 was a landmark in the history of municipal administration in India. As a result, panchayats and municipalities are now constitutional bodies which form the third tier of the federal polity of India. This decentralization initiative poses challenges and offers opportunities. This book provides an account of the fiscal developments in India during the post-liberalization period, with particular emphasis on decentralization initiatives. It also examines prospects and challenges facing the Indian economy. An appendix included in the book contains the Fiscal Policy Strategy Statement presented to Parliament by Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Minister of Finance, on February 26, 2010.