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New Delhi: Enthused by higher GDP number and improvement in fiscal situation, the government may lower fiscal deficit target below 5.1 per cent of GDP for the current fiscal when full Budget for FY25 is presented in July, sources said. The deficit number may be better on account of bouyancy in both tax and non-tax heads. For previous financial year ended March 2024, the fiscal deficit was better at 5.6 per cent of the GDP as against estimates of 5.8 per cent accounted in the interim Budget presented on February 1. The government would relook at the fiscal deficit when the full Budget is presented, sources said. Monsoon will be above average and it bodes well for the agricultural sector, they said. The growth rate in the agriculture sector would be higher than FY24, they said. The agriculture sector growth decelerated to 1.4 per cent in FY24 from 4.7 per cent in the previous fiscal. India's annual growth rate for FY24 to 8.2 per cent as compared to 7 per cent in the previous fiscal, mainly on account of good showing by the manufacturing sector. The sources said the RBI forecast of 7 per cent for the current fiscal year seems realistic and nominal GDP will be higher in the current fiscal as against the previous financial year. Domestic economic activity remains resilient, backed by strong investment demand and upbeat business and consumer sentiments, according to the sources. Strong corporate and bank balance sheets and the government's continued capex push could bolster economic growth. Talking about challenges, sources said, geopolitical tensions pose substantial downside risks while divergence of monetary easing paths of major central banks adds to policy uncertainty. Elevated financial market valuations globally (particularly in the US) and possible spillover effects on Indian markets could also pose risks. Besides, there could be impact on sentiment and household finances due to rising retail exposure to stocks through direct stock investments and derivatives positions. It could keep household savings rate from recovering, the sources said, adding, it is not a systemic risk.

State-owned REC Ltd on Friday said its board has approved raising the borrowing limit in foreign currency to USD 24 billion form USD 20 billion. The overall borrowing limit in Indian rupees was however retained at Rs 6 lakh crore, the company said in an exchange filing. The board of directors at its meeting held on Friday approved "proposal of retaining the overall borrowing limit of the company in INR at Rs 6,00,000 crore and increase the borrowing limit in any foreign currency equivalent from USD 20 billion to USD 24 billion..." The board also approved raising up to Rs 1,45,000 crore through private placement of unsecured/secured non-convertible bonds/debentures. The funds will be raised, in one or more tranches, from time to time, during one year from the date of passing of resolution by the shareholders in the ensuing annual general meeting. Besides, it approved appointment of Harsh Baweja as Director (Finance) (Additional Director) and Chief Financial Officer of REC with effect from May 14, 2024. REC, under Ministry of Power, is a non-banking finance company, public financial institution, and infrastructure financing company.

NSE’s index services subsidiary, NSE Indices, on Friday launched a new strategy index — Nifty500 Equal Weight — which represents an alternative weighting strategy to its parent index, the Nifty 500. It includes the same companies as the Nifty 500, however, weighed equally, an NSE press release said.The base date for the index is April 1, 2005, and the base value is 1000. The index is reconstituted on a semi-annual basis and weights are rebalanced on a quarterly basis.The index is expected to act as a benchmark for asset managers and a reference index tracked by passive funds in the form of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), index funds and structured products, the release said.It comes as a second consecutive launch by the NSE Indices. On Thursday, NSE Indices had launched a new thematic index — Nifty EV & New Age Automotive index — which will track the performance of companies forming a part of the EV ecosystem or are involved in the development of new-age automotive vehicles or related technology.In a separate press release issued on Thursday, NSE said it was India’s first- ever Electric Vehicle Index. "The new index is expected to act as a benchmark for asset managers and be a reference index tracked by passive funds in the form of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), index funds and structured products," the release said.The base date for the index is April 2, 2018, and the base value is 1000 and the index will be reconstituted semi-annually and rebalanced on a quarterly basis.Commenting on the development, Mukesh Agarwal, CEO of NSE Indices, said, “Nifty EV & New Age Automotive index aligns with NSE’s vision to provide innovative indices in line with market trends. The launch of the Nifty EV & New Age Automotive index will facilitate relation of products, which will create opportunity for asset managers to invest in the electric vehicle and new age automotive market thereby providing an investment vehicle to investors."Currently there are 17 thematic indices on the NSE viz. Nifty Commodities, Nifty India Consumption, Nifty CPSE, Nifty Energy and Nifty Infrastructure.Apart from thematic indices, NSE operates Broad Market Indices (like Nifty, Nifty Next 50, Nifty 100, Nifty 100 etc) and 15 sectoral Indices including Nifty Bank, Nifty IT and Nifty Auto.It also operates Strategy Indices and Fixed Income Indices.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)