It?s not surprising that as elections near the inclination to dole out subsidies go up even if it means widening the fiscal deficit. It may be different this time around. When mediapersons questioned how UPA plans to fund the subsidies on food and other items, finance minister P Chidambaram quipped ?paise aap ke taraf se (ayega)?. Although his answer in Hindi evoked a burst of laughter at the press conference, the minister is pretty serious in reining in the fiscal deficit within 4.8% of GDP in 2013-14 as part of the fiscal consolidation plan and to ensure the country?s sovereign rating remains intact.
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