Fiscal Strategy Left Incomplete

M P Chitale Government, it is clear from the 1985-86 Budget, has declared its inability to reduce normal recurring expenditure and a regime of high revenue deficits has, therefore, come to stay. As there is no likelihood of growth of revenue from direct taxes, the only possibilities left are improvement in working of public sector undertakings and growth of indirect tax revenues. But unless the structure of indirect taxes is reformed, the cascading effect leading to increases in costs and prices is unavoidable.