Overview
- Expenditure Secretary V. Vualnam, who spoke Friday at an Ashoka University conference, warned the next few days and quarters will be very difficult with limited visibility.
- He said the Rs 12.22 lakh crore capital plan will be preserved this fiscal, with funding steered to highways, railways, ports, shipping and urban development.
- He flagged real pressure from fuel subsidies, noting India imports about 60% of its LPG and most of it travels through the Strait of Hormuz, and said fertiliser subsidy could exceed the Budget by about Rs 50,000 crore.
- Receipts face strain after late‑March excise duty cuts on petrol and diesel and a pause on retail price hikes, and he added that tax revenue growth now looks uncertain.
- Following last week’s market swings that took Brent near $126 a barrel and the rupee to a record low around 95.35 per dollar, officials and analysts said FY27 growth and deficit estimates may need revisiting as the government tweaks export duties and raised the 19‑kg commercial LPG cylinder by Rs 993 while holding ATF prices.