New Delhi, Dec. 3 -- India's shift from targeting annual fiscal deficit to long-term debt was appropriate during a period of external economic uncertainty, chief economic advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran said on Wednesday.

"The reason the central government moved away from a deficit target every year to a public debt target is to give itself optionality in these times when there is going to be a lot of uncertainty, unexpected developments, etc.," he said, while speaking at the CII India Edge 2025.

In the Union budget for 2025-26, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a new five-year target to cut the central government's debt to 50% of gross domestic product (GDP), give or take 1%, by 31 March 2031.

Creating a rule that cannot be ...