The Centre’s fiscal deficit at the end of the first quarter touched 25.3% of the full-year target, government data showed on Monday.
In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit–the gap between expenditure and revenue–was ₹4,51,370 crore as of end-June, according to data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA).
The deficit stood at 21.2% of Budget Estimates (BE) in the corresponding period of the financial year 2022-23.
In the Union Budget, the government projected to bring down the fiscal deficit to 5.9% of gross domestic product (GDP) in the current 2023-24 financial year. The deficit was 6.4% of the GDP in 2022-23 against the earlier estimate of 6.71%.
Unveiling the revenue-expenditure data of the Union government for the first three months of 2023-24, the CGA said the net tax revenue was ₹4,33,620 crore or 18.6% of the BE for the current fiscal. The net tax revenue collection was 26.1% at end-June 2022.
The central government’s total expenditure in the first quarter stood at ₹10.5 lakh crore or 23.3% of BE. The expenditure had touched 24% of the BE in the year-ago period.
Of the total expenditure, ₹7.72 lakh crore was on the revenue account and ₹2.78 lakh crore was towards the capital account.
Of the total revenue expenditure, ₹2,43,705 crore was on interest payments and ₹87,035 crore on major subsidies.
Fiscal deficit is the difference between the total expenditure and revenue of the government. It is an indication of the total borrowings that are needed by the government.
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