April-August fiscal deficit reaches 96.1% of FY18 target

Government reported fiscal deficit of Rs 5.25 lakh crore for April-August or 96.1% of the budgeted target for the current fiscal year that ends in March 2018.

FY18 fiscal deficit target had been set at Rs 5.47 lakh crore.

The deficit was 76.4% of the full-year target during the same period a year ago.

Net tax receipts in the first five months of 2017/18 fiscal year were Rs 3.4 lakh crore, government data showed on Friday.

The country’s capital spending stood at Rs 1.1 lakh crore during the April-August period in FY18, up from Rs 91,300 crore in the corresponding period last year.

The government stated further that around Rs 5.8 lakh accrued from tax mop-up in the April-August period as against Rs 4.84 lakh crore in the corresponding period last year.

Revenue deficit for the first five months of FY18 stood at Rs 4.31 lakh crore, as compared to Rs 3.25 lakh cr in FY17.

Meanwhile, revenue spending was pegged at Rs 9.5 lakh cr over last year’s Rs 8.02 lakh cr in the same period.