FM sticks to fiscal roadmap, FY17 deficit at 3.5%

February 29, 2016

New Delhi, Feb 29: Amid debate over balancing growth and financial management, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today adhered to the fiscal consolidation roadmap by proposing to keep the deficit at 3.5 per cent of GDP in 2016-17.

He also assured that development agenda will not be compromised and a committee would be set up to review the working of Fiscal Resposibility and Budget Management (FRBM).

The fiscal deficit in current fiscal has been estimated at 3.9 per cent, which will be brought down to 3.5 per cent in next fiscal.

"While doing this I have ensured that development agenda has not been compromised," Jaitley said in the next fiscal's Budget speech.

Total government expenditure in next fiscal would be Rs 19.78 lakh crore. Of this, Rs 5.50 lakh crore would go towards Plan expenditure and another Rs 14.28 lakh crore towards non-Plan expenditure.

The revenue Deficit for current fiscal has been bettered to 2.5 per cent of GDP, from the budgeted 2.8 per cent.

Jaitley further said that in view of the uncertainty and volatility in global markets, time has come to review the FRBM Act.

A committee to review the implementation of FRBM would be set up, he said, adding that the government will also work with the state governments towards doing away with the distinction between plan and non-plan expenditure.

Last year Jaitley had delayed the fiscal consolidation roadmap in order to build infrastructure by boosting public investment.

As per the deficit roadmap announced by Jaitley in last budget, fiscal deficit was to be brought down to 3.9 per cent in current fiscal and further to 3.5 per cent by 2016-17. The deficit was to be lowered to 3 per cent by 2017-18.

As per the earlier roadmap for fiscal consolidation, the deficit was to come down to 3 per cent by 2016-17.

The Economic Survey tabled in Parliament on Friday had said that "credibility and optimality" argued in favour of sticking to deficit target of 3.5 per cent of GDP for 2016-17, indicating some room for an upward revision.

"There are very good arguments for a strategy of aggressive fiscal consolidation...and equally good arguments for a strategy of moderate consolidation that can place the debt on a sustainable path while avoiding imparting a major negative demand shock to a still-fragile recovery," it had said.

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‘Pay the worker before his sweat dries’: Madras High Court cites Prophet Muhammad’s teaching while ordering settlement of dues

News Network

December 21,2025

Invoking the teachings of Prophet Muhammad—“pay the worker before his sweat dries”—the Madras High Court has directed a municipal corporation to settle long-pending legal dues owed to a former counsel. The court observed that this principle reflects basic fairness and applies equally to labour and service-related disputes.

Justice G. R. Swaminathan made the observation while hearing a petition filed by advocate P. Thirumalai, who claimed that the Madurai City Municipal Corporation failed to pay him legal fees amounting to ₹13.05 lakh. Earlier, the High Court had asked the corporation to consider his representation. However, a later order rejected a major portion of his claim, prompting the present petition.

The court allowed Thirumalai to approach the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) and submit a list of cases in which he had appeared. It also directed the corporation to settle the verified fee bills within two months, without interest. The court noted that the petitioner had waited nearly 18 years before challenging the non-payment and that the corporation could not be fully blamed, as the fee bills were not submitted properly.

‘A Matter of Embarrassment’

Justice Swaminathan described it as a “matter of embarrassment” that the State has nearly a dozen Additional Advocate Generals. He observed that appointing too many law officers often leads to unnecessary allocation of work and frequent adjournments, as government counsel claim that senior officers are engaged elsewhere.

He expressed hope that such practices would end at least in the Madurai Bench of the High Court and added that Additional Advocate Generals should “turn a new leaf” from 2026 onwards.

‘Scandalously High Amounts’

While stating that the court cannot examine the exact fees paid to senior counsel or law officers, Justice Swaminathan stressed that good governance requires public funds to be used prudently. He expressed concern over the “scandalously high amounts” paid by government and quasi-government bodies to a few favoured law officers.

In contrast, the court noted that Thirumalai’s total claim was “a pittance” considering the large number of cases he had handled.

Background

Thirumalai served as the standing counsel for the Madurai City Municipal Corporation for more than 14 years, from 1992 to 2006. During this period, he represented the corporation in about 818 cases before the Madurai District Courts.

As the former counsel was unable to hire a clerk to obtain certified copies of judgments in all 818 cases, the court directed the District Legal Services Authority to collect the certified copies within two months. The court further ordered the corporation to bear the cost incurred by the DLSA and deduct that amount from the final settlement payable to the petitioner.

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