Home BusinessPostal dept to end FY10 with Rs 5,632 cr deficit: Govt
The government today said the postal department is expected to have a deficit of Rs 5,632.46 crore in the current fiscal, which has increased substantially over the past few years following implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations.
- Fiscal deficit at Rs 2.45 lakh cr in Apr-Oct - I don"t need this - Spend less, save more: Obama to Americans - India can"t handle high fiscal deficit for long: Mukherjee - Stimulus to stay; may cut oil, fert subsidies: FM - Fiscal deficit touches half of budget estimate in six months
"The Department of Posts (DoP) has had deficit for the last three years and it is expected to continue this year also. The deficit for 2009-10 is expected to be Rs 5,632.46 crore," Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology Gurudas Kamat told the Lok Sabha in a written reply today.
The DoP"s deficit was Rs 1,249.52 crore in 2006-07, Rs 1,511.44 in 2007-08 and Rs 3,593.09 in 2008-09, he added.
The deficit has substantially increased during the previous year and the current year due to the hike in salaries and pensionary charges following the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission report, he pointed out.
The increasing deficit has also been due to the subsidy being extended to make the postal service affordable to common man, and besides taking to service to the far-flung areas of the country.
He added that the department has been taking steps like introduction of new products, market development activities and adoption of customer-oriented strategies to increase its revenue.
In response to another question, Kamat said the mobile number portability is likely to be implemented by December 31 in the metros and Category A circles.
These would include Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu including Chennai, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka circles, while the rest of the country will be covered by March 2010, he added.