New Delhi, June 11: Prime Minster`s Economic
Advisory Council (PMEAC) Chairman Suresh Tendulkar on Thursday said
the government should raise resources from disinvestment and
sale of 3G spectrum to limit the rising fiscal deficit.
"If they (government) manage to tap new sources of
revenue, I don`t think there should be any problem on fiscal
deficit ... new sources of revenues like the sale of 3G
spectrum (and) disinvestment," he told reporters on the
sidelines of a function organised by the Competition
Commission of India.
The auction of 3G spectrum is expected to yield Rs 25,000
to Rs 40,000 crore to the exchequer.
As regards offloading of government`s stake in public
sector enterprises, Tendulkar said, "the prospects are good
for disinvestment."
President Pratibha Patil in her address to joint sitting
of Parliament had said, "My government will develop a roadmap
for listing and people-ownership of PSUs while ensuring that
the government equity does not fall below 51 per cent."
Following the three stimulus packages announced by the
government to arrest the impact of global financial meltdown
on the country, the fiscal deficit during 2008-09 shot up to
6.2 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from the
original estimate of 2.5 per cent.
Bureau Report
