Fiscal Policy & Monetary Policy
Fiscal Policy
deals with the revenue and expenditure policy of the Govt. The word fiscal has
been derived from the word ‘fisk’ which means public treasury or Govt. funds.
Latest
Update about Fiscal Policy of India:
- The Union
Budget 2021 has signaled the emphasis on the Development Financial
Institutions (DFIs) in the pursuit of long-term infrastructure
creation for the revival of the economy.
- The
establishment of the Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) has been proposed
in the Union Budget 2021 that can help provide quick relief to
taxpayers in tax disputes.
Objectives
of Fiscal Policy
The
following are the objectives of the Fiscal Policy:
- Higher Economic Growth
- Price Stability
- Reduction in Inequality
The above objectives are met in the following ways:
- Consumption Control – This way, the ratio of savings to income is
raised.
- Raising the rate of investment.
- Taxation, infrastructure development.
- Imposition of progressive taxes.
- Exemption from the taxes provided to the vulnerable classes.
- Heavy taxation on luxury goods.
- Discouraging unearned income.
What are the
components of Fiscal Policy?
There are three components of the Fiscal
Policy of India:
- Government Receipts
- Government Expenditure
- Public Debt
Aspirants should note that all the receipts
and expenditures of the government are credited and debited from the following:
- Consolidated Fund of India
- Contingency Fund of India
- Public Account of India
Download the notes on the types of funds
in India from the linked article.
Government Receipts
The categorization of the government receipts
is given below:
- Revenue Receipt
·
Tax Revenue
·
Direct Tax
·
Indirect Tax
·
Non Tax Revenue
·
Fees
·
License and Permits
·
Fines and Penalties, etc
Capital Receipt
·
Loans Recovery
·
Disinvestments
·
Borrowing and other liabilities
Debt Trap – Situation where the borrower
has to borrow again for the payment of an installment on the previous debt. A
borrower unable to meet debt service obligations without borrowing is known to
be in a debt trap.
Direct Tax Code
Bill 2010
It hasn’t been implemented yet. The bill
seeks to replace the following taxes:
- Income Tax Act of 1961
- Wealth Tax Act of 1957
Disinvestment
When the government sells or liquidates its
assets of Central Public Sector Enterprises, State Public Sector Enterprises or
other assets; it is referring to disinvestment. This approach caters to the
objective of fiscal burden reduction.
Government Expenditure
There are two classifications of public
expenditure:
- Revenue Expenditure – It is a
recurring expenditure:
·
Interest Payments
·
Defense Expenses
·
Salaries to Central Government
employees, etc are examples of revenue expenditure
Capital
Expenditure – It is a non-recurring expenditure
·
Loans repayments
·
Loans to public enterprises, etc.
Fiscal Consolidation
The measures that are taken to improve the
fiscal deficit come under the process of fiscal consolidation. Through fiscal
consolidation, the government tries for:
- Improvement in revenue receipts
- Better alignment in the public
expenditure
The government introduced the FRBM Act aiming
for fiscal consolidation. Read about it below:
Fiscal
Responsibility and Budget Management Act (FRBMA), 2003
The objective of this FRBM Act is to impose
fiscal discipline on the government.
It means fiscal policy should be conducted in a disciplined manner or a responsible manner i.e. government deficits or borrowings should be kept within reasonable limits and the government should plan its expenditure in accordance with its revenues so that the borrowing should be within limits.
Fiscal Federalism
It refers to the distribution of resource
between centre and states.
The distribution of taxes between centre and states
is mentioned in the 7th schedule of the Indian
constitution.
There are 3 lists where the taxes are
distributed
- Union List
- State List
- Concurrent List
In general terms, the Monetary Policy of
a country is a regulatory policy which enables the central bank or monetary
authority of the country to control the supply of money,
availability of bank credit, and the cost of money (or rate of interest). In
this article, we will look at the objectives of the monetary
policy in India.
Monetary Policy
in India
In India,
the Monetary Policy is an important tool for the economic management
of the country. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is the central bank of the
monetary authority of India. it controls the supply of money and bank credit.
It is
responsible for ensuring that the banking system meets the legitimate credit
requirements and not for unproductive or speculative reasons.
Objectives of the
Monetary Policy in India
‘Growth
with Stability’ is the backbone of the monetary policy in India. The policy
helps in the regulation of the availability,
cost, and use of money. Here are the primary objectives of the monetary policy
in India:
Growth with Stability
Traditionally,
the monetary policy in India was focused on controlling inflation. This was
done through the contraction of money supply and credit. However, this resulted
in poor growth of the economy.
Therefore,
RBI adopted a new policy of growth with
stability. In simple terms, this means that the RBI will provide sufficient
credit for the increasing needs of the different sectors of the economy. Also,
it will control inflation within a certain limit.
Regulation, Supervision, and
Development of Financial Stability
Financial
stability is the ability of an economy to absorb shocks and ensure that people
retain confidence in the financial system of the country. Internal and External
shocks can threaten the financial stability of a country and destabilize its
financial system.
Therefore,
the RBI gives a lot of importance to maintaining confidence in the country’s financial
system through adequate regulation and controls. It also ensures that the
objective of growth is not sacrificed. Therefore, we can say that the RBI
focuses on the regulation, supervision, and development of
financial stability.
Promoting Priority Sector
In India,
the priority sector includes agriculture, export, small-scale enterprises, and
the weaker section of the population. RBI
consistently ensures that the banking system provides timely and adequate
credit to these sections at affordable costs.
Employment Generation
The
monetary policy of a country can influence the rate of investment and its
allocation among the different economic activities of the country with varying
labor intensities. Therefore, it helps in employment generation.
External Stability
As the
imports and exports are increasing, India’s linkages with the global economy
are getting stronger. Traditionally, the RBI determined the exchange rate and
also controlled the foreign exchange market.
However,
now RBI only has indirect control over external stability through managed
flexibility. Through this mechanism, the RBI influences the exchange rate by
buying or selling foreign currencies in the open market.
Encouraging Savings and Investments
In order to
encourage people to save, the RBI offers attractive interest rates. Further, a
high saving rate leads to investment.
Therefore,
the monetary management via influencing interest rates can mobilize savings and
thereby investments in the country.
Redistribution of Income and Wealth
Since the
RBI controls inflation and deploys affordable credit to the weaker sections of
the society, it can redistribute income and wealth to the weaker sections of
the economy.
Regulation of NBFIs
NBFIs or
Non-Banking Financial Institutions like IDBI, UTI, IFCI, etc. play an important
role in the Indian economy. They help in the deployment of credit and also the
mobilization of savings.
RBI does
not directly control the functioning of these institutions. However, through
the monetary policy, it can indirectly influence the policies and functions of
the NBFIs.
Liberalization
The term liberalization denotes
removing restrictions from certain private individual activity, typically
pertaining to the economic system. Commonly, liberalization is used in the
context of a government relaxing its previously imposed restrictions on
economic or social policies.
Economic liberalization
Refers to a situation where
inessential restrictions and controls are removed from a country’s economy to
ensure that businesses and enterprises can maximize their contribution. It is,
however, important to note that liberalization does not mean an uncontrolled economy.
Economic Liberalization in India
The Indian economy
was liberalized in the year 1991. In India, the concept of economic
liberalization was introduced to attain several objectives – industrialization,
expansion in the role of private and foreign investment, and introducing a free
market system. Restrictions were relaxed for private companies to enter several
core industries, which were previously reserved for the public sector.
Economic
liberalization in India was bolstered by its balance of payments crisis in
1985. This crisis rendered the country incapable of paying for its essential
imports and servicing its debt payments. India was pushed to the brink of
bankruptcy therein. As a response to it, the then finance
minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, introduced economic liberalization in
India.
Features
of Liberalization in India
Following
are some of the features of liberalization that was initiated as a part of
economic reforms of 1991 –
· Abolition of the previously existing License Raj in the country
License or Permit Raj is a complicated system of regulations, licenses, and
restrictions that were imposed to run and set up businesses between 1947 and
1990.
- Reduction of interest rates and tariffs
- Curbing monopoly of the public sector from various areas of our
economy
- Approval of foreign direct investment in various sectors
- Economic liberalization in India integrated the above features and
in general waived off several restrictions to become more private
sector-friendly.
Objectives
of Liberalization
The
primary objectives of initiating liberalization in India can be summed up as
follows – To solve India’s impending balance of payment crisis.
- To boost the private sector’s participation in the development of
India’s economy
- To increase the volume of foreign direct investment in India’s
businesses
- To introduce competition between India’s domestic businesses
- To maximize India’s economic potential by encouraging
multinational and private companies to expand.
- To usher in globalization for the Indian economy
- To regulate export and import and promote foreign trade, Impact of
Liberalization on Indian Economy
Advantages
and Disadvantages
When
it comes to discussing the impacts of liberalization, it is crucial to look at
both the positive and negative ramifications on our country’s economy.
Advantages:
Free
Capital Flow in The Economy - Liberalization has enabled free movement of
capital in our country, allowing companies to access the same easily from
investors. In the pre-liberalization period, undertaking lucrative projects was
taboo due to the dearth of capital, which was rectified in 1991, initiating
higher growth rates.
Diversification
of Investor Portfolio - post-liberalization, investors has the liberty to invest a
percentage of their portfolio into a diversified asset class, thus generating
more profit.
Improvement
of Stock Market Performance - Relaxation of economic laws also leads to a
rise in the stock market’s value, thus encouraging more trading among investors.
Impact
on The Agricultural Sector - Even though the impact of liberalization on
the agricultural sector cannot be measured accurately, in the period post-1991,
there was a significant modification in cropping patterns throughout the
country.
Disadvantages:
Economic
Destabilization - Such a severe economic reform led to the redistribution of
political and economic power that destabilized the Indian economy to quite an
extent.
Increased
Competition from MNCs - In the period of pre-liberalization, multinational companies
had no role to play in the Indian economy. However, soon after, Indian
companies faced increased competition from MNCs, which threatened the existence
of several smaller firms.
FDI
impact on The Banking Sector - Lifting restrictions from foreign direct
investment in the banking and insurance sectors led to a downfall in the
government’s stakes in both these sectors.
Increase
of Acquisitions and Mergers - The increased scope of mergers and
acquisitions in the post-liberalization period has posed a threat to the
employees of smaller firms. In the event of a merger with bigger companies,
employees of the smaller firms had to undergo rigorous re-skilling that led to
a stagnation of productivity.