Govt faces tough time as fiscal deficit overshoots budget target

New Delhi: India’s fiscal deficit overshot the budget estimate of Rs 5.31 lakh crore by December-end and may prompt the government to take tough steps in the remaining part of 2014-15 to restrict it to 4.1 percent of GDP. [caption id=“attachment_2068333” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. PTI[/caption] As per the data released by Controller General (CGA) of Accounts today, the fiscal deficit during April-December period was Rs 5.32 lakh crore or 100.2 per cent of the 2014-15 estimate, mainly because of subdued revenue realisation. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has time and again reiterated that the government is committed to restricting the fiscal deficit at 4.1 percent of the GDP, which would be the lowest in seven years, and has taken several steps towards it. Today’s Coal India stake sale by government may help the exchequer garner about Rs 22,500 crore and provide some cushion to it. More disinvestment in blue chip PSUs are likely to take place in the two months. The fiscal deficit – the gap between government expenditure and revenue – during the same period last year was at 95.2 percent of that year’s target. PTI