Capex boost behind higher April-July fiscal deficit

Total spending for April-July this year was Rs 6.09 lakh crore, nearly 39% of the full year target of Rs 17.77 lakh crore

India's fiscal deficit for the first four months of 2015-16 stood at Rs 3.85 lakh crore, 69.3 per cent of the full-year target, compared with 61.2 per cent for the same period last year, on the back of a boost in capital expenditure (capex) by the government, official data showed on Monday.

Additionally, with the gross domestic product (GDP) numbers for the April-June quarter also being released, the fiscal deficit for the first three months of the year stood at a staggering 8.84 per cent of GDP (Rs 32.43 lakh crore at current prices.) Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has budgeted a fiscal deficit target of 3.9 per cent of GDP for the financial year.

Total spending for April-July this year was Rs 6.09 lakh crore, nearly 39 per cent of the full year target of Rs 17.77 lakh crore, compared with 28.1 per cent for April-July last year. Non-plan expenditure was Rs 4.43 lakh crore, around 34 per cent of the full year target, compared with 30.5 per cent in last year's comparable period. Non-plan capital spending was 32.4 per cent of the full year target, compared with 32.1 per cent in April-July 2014.