Govt likely to roll over Rs 35,000 crore in subsidy payments to next fiscal, says report

The government is likely to defer the financial arrangement of about Rs 35,000 crore in combined food, petroleum and fertiliser subsidies to the financial year 2019-20, in order to meet the revised fiscal deficit target of 3.4 percent, Business Standard reported, citing sources.

The interim Budget assumed the average  price of crude oil to be $65 per barrel for the next fiscal, which is the same as that of the current, the sources told BS, adding that if the sums mentioned above are not rolled over, the fiscal deficit can be as high as 3.5 percent.

The amount rolled over to FY20 for petroleum subsidy will be around Rs 13,000 crore while the food subsidy can see a rollover of Rs 10,000 crore. The amount to be rolled over for fertiliser subsidies is likely to be Rs 10-12,000 crore.