Govt working to mitigate US tariff impact, says DEA secretary Anuradha Thakur

NEW DELHI: Govt is working on an action plan to mitigate the impact of a steep tariff hike of 50% imposed by the US on Indian shipments, economic affairs secretary Anuradha Thakur said.“There are certain employment-heavy sectors which do have exposure to the US and to that extent may get affected. Govt is well aware of that and is assessing the possible impact and working towards possible solutions,” she said in an interview. Besides, the department of economic affairs (DEA) secretary said govt has taken some steps and more are in the offing to perk up domestic demand, which could also provide some support to manufacturing units feeling heat of US tariffs.Govt in the Budget had announced zero income tax for income up to Rs 12 lakh under the new tax regime providing substantial savings to taxpayers. Govt has also announced GST reforms to be carried out in terms of rate rationalisation, which is expected to bring down prices of many commodities. Moreover, better than expected monsoon will boost agricultural production and in turn further push rural demand. Thakur exuded confidence that govt is on track to meet the fiscal deficit target of 4.4% set in the Budget despite temporary mismatches which may have been exhibited in the latest monthly numbers.The statement assumes significance in the light of Centre’s fiscal deficit rising to 29.9% of the full-year target at the end of July as against just 17.2% of the Budget Estimates in the same period of the last fiscal. “So this question (of achieving the target) has been coming up because of the latest numbers. I would like to say that quarter-by-quarter or month-by-month assessments of fiscal deficit numbers may not give a correct picture because of temporal mismatches, which may come in on the receipt and expenditure side. “On the overall fiscal deficit numbers, our assessment so far is that we will be able to achieve the target,” she said. The Centre estimates the fiscal deficit during FY26 to be at 4.4% of GDP.