Cutting off-budget borrowings has raised fiscal deficit guidance: Crisil

Government's more transparent stand in terms of its accounts has resulted in countr y's fiscal deficit taking a longer glide path towards consolidation. According to a research report by Crisil, with off-budget expenditures such as Food Corporation of India's (FCI's) loans from the National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) and government fully serviced bonds now getting accounted for when calculating the fiscal deficit in the more transparent scheme, the fiscal consolidation path may stretch longer.