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No disparity in GDP estimates: Nirmala Sitharaman clarifies on Union Budget 2019

Opposition leaders had raised questions over the GDP growth estimates.

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Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addressed criticism over apparent disparities in the GDP growth projections in the Union Budget speech and the Economic Survey in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. She said the differences in the projections arose from the fact that they used different base GDP figures.

The opposition had raised concern over two differing estimates of GDP growth that had been released just a day apart, and had sought clarification over which figure was correct.

Speaking in the Lok Sabha in her reply to the debate on the Budget, Nirmala said the Economic Survey's GDP projection had been based on the provisional nominal GDP estimate, while the GDP growth estimate she had tabled in Parliament was based on the advanced nominal GDP estimates.

"The growth rate of the nominal GDP for 2019-20 in the Budget documents has been projected at 12 percent over the advanced nominal GDP estimates. The advanced estimates for 2018-19 were released on 7 Jan, 2019," Nirmala told Lok Sabha.

"The growth rate of the nominal GDP for 2019-20 in the Economic Survey has been projected at 11 percent over the provisional nominal GDP estimate of 190,10,164 cr. The provisional estimate was released on 31 May, 2019. Both the projections are consistent with each other," she added.

She said the estimate she had provided to the House has used the same GDP base as the interim budget, which had been tabled by Piyush Goyal earlier this year. Nirmala said the same GDP base had been used since it would enable comparison between the two figures.

Nirmala also affirmed the government's commitment to the path of fiscal consolidation, and contain the fiscal deficit at 3.3 percent of GDP, instead of the 3.4 percent outlined in the interim budget.

 

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