Fiscal deficit crosses 134% of budget estimate at February-end on tepid growth in revenue collections

New Delhi: The country’s fiscal deficit touched 134.2 percent of the full-year revised budgeted estimate at the end of February 2019, mainly due to tepid growth in revenue collections, official data showed on Friday. In absolute term, fiscal deficit for April-February 2018-19 was Rs 8.51 lakh crore as against the revised estimate (RE) of Rs 6.34 lakh crore for the entire year, according to Controller General of Accounts (CGA) data. [caption id=“attachment_4619341” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] However, Economic Affairs Secretary S C Garg told reporters that the government is committed to restrict the fiscal deficit at 3.4 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as envisaged in the Budget. The CGA data revealed that revenue receipts of the central government was Rs 12.65 lakh crore or 73.2 percent of the revised budgetary estimate (BE) at February end. In the same period last fiscal, the revenue collection was 78.2 percent of the estimates. The government’s tax revenue stood at Rs 10.94 lakh crore and non-tax revenue was Rs 1.7 lakh crore. Total expenditure incurred by the government during April-February 2018-19 was Rs 21.88 lakh crore (89.08 percent of RE), of which Rs 19.15 lakh crore was on revenue account and Rs 2.73 lakh crore on capital account. Out of the total revenue expenditure, Rs 5.01 lakh crore was on account of interest payments and Rs 2.63 lakh crore on major subsidies. Meanwhile, the finance ministry in a statement said that Rs 5.96 lakh crore has been transferred to the state governments as devolution of share of taxes by the central government up to February, which is Rs 67,043 crore higher than the corresponding period of last year 2017-18.