Union Budget 2017-18 shows India’s commitment to improve fiscal performance but heavy debt burden and weak public finances remain key rating constraints, S&P Global Ratings said today.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Budget for next fiscal in Parliament yesterday in which he planned to cut fiscal deficit to 3.2 percent and 3 percent of GDP for next financial year and 2018-19 respectively.
The deficit in the current fiscal is estimated to be 3.5 percent of GDP. “India’s 2017-2018 budget illustrates the government’s commitment to improving its fiscal performance over the medium term, despite the hit to near-term growth from the demonetisation initiative,” S&P said.
Benchmark indices gained further with the Nifty reclaiming 8750 for the first time since October 6, 2016.
The Sensex rose 136.05 points at 28277.69 and the Nifty advanced 36.10 points to 8752.50.
