Budget 2022: Govt needs to spend more, deficit no concern in time like this, says Subhash Garg

Even as the government has laid out a fiscal consolidation roadmap and a target of 4.5% fiscal deficit by 2026, the pandemic may force it to continue to spend. Experts believe that at a time like this, the deficit is not a real concern. Calling for a real push to the economy, former finance secretary Subhash Garg points out that even though the fiscal deficit widened to 9.5% last year, it was not fresh expenditure and only covered the revenue shortfall and payment of the old liabilities. Garg is of the view that there is a lot of opportunity in the budget to kick off the right kind of programmes to benefit the economy. He is, however, wary of the export push as the global demand may remain subdued.