A Sustainable Fiscal Policy For India

India's economy has grown rapidly since the beginning of the 1990s despite a large and growing fiscal deficit and rising public levels relative to output. This book explores whether India has found a way to reconcile sustained expansionary fiscal policies with relative macroeconomic stability.

Addresses Issues Such As-Sustainablity Of Fiscal Deficits, The Role Of Tax Enhancing Measures, Cuts In Government Spacing, The Impact Of Government Spacing On Economic Growth And The Agenda For Policy Makers In The Future. Contains 12 Papers.

This paper explores how fiscal policy can affect medium- to long-term growth. It identifies the main channels through which fiscal policy can influence growth and distills practical lessons for policymakers. The particular mix of policy measures, however, will depend on country-specific conditions, capacities, and preferences. The paper draws on the Fund’s extensive technical assistance on fiscal reforms as well as several analytical studies, including a novel approach for country studies, a statistical analysis of growth accelerations following fiscal reforms, and simulations of an endogenous growth model.

In This Volume Shome Designs Strategies For A Sustainable Fiscal Architecture In The Country, Surveys Fiscal Trends Of The 1990S, And Provides An Overview Of The Tax And Expenditure Reforms.

Cover -- India's Fiscal Policy -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgements -- Disclaimer -- Introduction: Contours of the Indian Fiscal Policy Debate -- Notes -- 1 Fiscal Policy in India Trends and Trajectory -- Introduction -- Basic concepts and analytical framework -- India's fiscal policy architecture -- Evolution of Indian fiscal policy till 1991 -- Liberalization, growth, inclusion and fiscal consolidation (1991-2008) -- Crisis and return to fiscal consolidation: The maturing of Indian fiscal policy -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- 2 Decentralization, Indirect Tax Reform and Fiscal Federalism in India -- Introduction -- Economic disparity across Indian states -- The GST and the role of the FC -- Some recent reforms in indirect taxation and their beneficial effects -- Some remaining issues with the indirect tax structure -- Agenda for indirect tax reform -- Structure of transfers from the central government to state governments -- FC transfers -- PC transfers -- Centrally sponsored schemes -- Transfers to PRIs and urban bodies -- Conclusions -- Notes -- References -- 3 Fiscal Implications of Energy Subsidies -- Introduction -- Petroleum subsidies -- Subsidies in the coal sector -- Subsidies in the power sector -- Renewable energy sector -- Conclusions -- Notes -- References -- 4 Fiscal Implications of Food Security in India: A Critical Review -- Introduction -- Concept of food security -- Fiscal policy and food security in India -- Food security policies in some countries -- Bangladesh -- Bhutan -- Maldives -- Nepal -- Pakistan -- Sri Lanka -- Review of food security policies in India -- On availability -- On access -- Antyodaya Anna Yojana -- On nutrition -- Integrated child development services -- Mid-day meal scheme -- Social security through MGNREGS -- NFSA, 2013: What are the macro-fiscal impacts?

This book examines how macro-fiscal policy can lead to gender-aware human development in an emerging economy like India, with special reference to gender budgeting. Integrating gender lens in macro-fiscal policies has been widely recognized in international and national policy making and budgeting. The book highlights the gender diagnosis—the measurement issues relate to construction of gender outcome variables; the statistical invisibility of unpaid care economy sector and how deficiency in public infrastructure can accentuate the private costs; the analytical link between gender outcome variables and macro-fiscal policy frameworks; the role and impact of fiscal transfers on gender equality outcomes at subnational levels; time series of gender budgets in India across sectors and its fiscal marksmanship; gender disaggregated public expenditure benefit incidence analysis to understand the distributional impacts of public spending on women across income quintiles and suggest policy alternatives. The book uses unique database—time use survey data and the disaggregated demand for grants, expenditure budgets using gender lens. The book employs case study, simple statistical tools for the analysis and econometric methodology.