Fiscal deficit hits 112.4% of FY19 target at Rs 7.01 trn in Apr-Dec

Govt has revised upward its fiscal deficit target to 3.4% of GDP in the current fiscal year from the previously estimated 3.3%

Fiscal deficit touched 112.4 per cent of the full-year budget target of Rs 6.24 trillion at the end of December on account of lower revenue collections, government data showed on Monday.

The fiscal deficit, or gap between Government's expenditure and revenue, stood at Rs 7.01 trillion during April-December of the current financial year which ends in March.

At the end of December 2017, the deficit was 113.6 per cent of the Budget Estimate (BE).

The government has budgeted to cut the fiscal deficit to 3.3 per cent of GDP or Rs 6.24 trillion in 2018-19, from 3.53 per cent in the previous financial year.

In the interim budget for 2019-20, the fiscal deficit was revised upwards marginally to 3.4 per cent of GDP or over Rs 6.34 trillion, on account of an additional outlay of Rs 20,000 crore for funding income scheme for small farmers.

According to the data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), the revenue receipts of the government totalled Rs 10.84 trillion or 62.8 per cent of BE in 2018-19 till December, compared with 66.9 per cent during the same period last year.

The government has budgeted to mop up Rs 17.25 trillion revenue during the current fiscal. The figure has been revised upwards to over Rs 17.29 trillion in the 2019-20 interim budget.

Tax revenue was 63.2 per cent of BE, compared with 73.4 per cent in the comparable period of the previous year.

According to the CGA data, the total expenditure of the government at December-end was Rs 18.32 trillion or 75 per cent of BE.

The total expenditure for current fiscal has been raised to Rs 24.57 trillion in the Revised Estimates, from the budgeted Rs 24.42 trillion.