While using the RBI’s surplus capital to support the banks was a point of contention with former governor Urjit Patel , it may not be the case now. Shaktikanta Das , a former bureaucrat picked by Modi to steer the RBI after Patel’s exit, is open to hearing the government out on its concerns about the economy -- whose growth slowed in the three months through September. Sales of stakes in state-run companies have also lagged, with only 42 percent of the targeted revenue realized so far.Spending in April to October was 59.6 percent of the budget estimate. "With an election on the horizon, I suspect sparking a bit more growth will take precedence over meeting fiscal obligations," said Richard Rossow, an Indian policy expert at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Modi thinks he has a very real chance at serving a second term, so he may moderate any inclination to break the bank too severely."

Source: Economic Times December 18, 2018 03:50 UTC