Fiscal deficit for April-January period hits 113.7% of full-year revised target

New Delhi: India’s fiscal deficit touched Rs 6.77 lakh crore at the end of January, 113.7 percent of the target for the entire fiscal, on account of higher expenditure. The fiscal deficit, reflection of government borrowings to meet revenue-expenditure gap, was 113.7 percent in the 10-month period of 2017-18 as compared to 105.7 percent in the year-ago period. Fiscal deficit had been pegged at Rs 5.33 lakh crore, or 3.5 percent of the GDP, for the current fiscal ending 31 March. [caption id=“attachment_4304091” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] The figure was revised to Rs 5.95 lakh crore in the Union Budget 2018-19, presented in Parliament earlier on 1 February. As per data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), the revenue deficit during the April-January period of 2017-18, at Rs 4.80 lakh crore works out to 109.2 percent of the revised budget estimate. It was 129.9 percent in the corresponding period of the last financial year. Net tax receipts in the first 10 months of 2017-18 fiscal were 9.7 lakh crore. Total receipts from revenue and non-debt capital of the government during the period amount to Rs 11.63 lakh crore or 71.7 percent of revised estimate. The government’s revenue expenditure during the current fiscal till January came in at Rs 15.75 lakh crore, 81 percent of the full-year revised estimate. The capital expenditure was Rs 2.64 lakh crore, or 96.9 percent, of the full-year revised estimate. The total expenditure was Rs 18.39 lakh crore,83 percent of the government’s full-year estimate of Rs 22.17 lakh crore.