Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has set aside ₹1.10 lakh crore in 2016-17 to meet the higher wage and pension bill arising out of the implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission report and the One Rank One Pension (OROP).

Informing the Parliamentary Consultative Committee attached to his Ministry on Friday, Jaitley also underlined the need to keep government spending under control next fiscal. “This year, we have spent more, but still we will very well managed our deficit targets,” he said, adding that 2015-16 was the first time that the real expenditure amount was higher than the Budget proposal.

In his opening remarks at the first meeting of the Consultative Committee on “Suggestions for the Budget”, Jaitley also expressed confidence that the Centre will be able to contain the fiscal deficit at the targeted 3.9 per cent of GDP in the current financial year.

Growth prospects

Stressing that India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, he, however, said that predictions of low global growth in the coming year will also impact the domestic economy, especially due to the fall in exports.

Monsoon woes

“Agriculture growth in the last two years has suffered mainly due to insufficient monsoons,” he said, adding that the Centre has given the highest ever amount to States for drought relief in this fiscal.

“More incentives will be given to the agriculture sector for increasing production and productivity,” he added.

He also informed the panel that loans worth ₹90 crore had already been disbursed under the MUDRA scheme to over two crore micro, small and medium enterprises.

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