Database on Central Government Finances

This note examines the data base on finances of central government and attempts to reconcile differences between the basic sources of information available in budget papers and Report on Currency and Finance published by Ministry of Finance and Reserve Bank of India respectively. They present the series under different classifications, viz; plan and non-plan, developmental and non-developmental and economic and functional classification of central government expenditures. We discuss here the differences arising out of classifications adopted in the two sources among others, so as to understand the origination of deficits and in particular, gross fiscal deficit. By and large, we are able to reconcile revenues and total expenditures based on classifications followed in budget papers and Reports on Currency and Finance. However, we have not been able to juxtapose expenditures item-wise among the sources.