India's fiscal deficit at 88 percent of target in 9 months

India's fiscal deficit has touched 88 percent of the annual target as on end-December 2015, even as tax revenue crossed the two-thirds mark, as per the latest official estimates of the central government accounts released on Friday.

As per the Controller General of Accounts, as opposed to a fiscal deficit target of Rs.5.55 lakh crore, the actual number has been Rs.4.88 lakh crore, or 88 percent, of the 2015-16 Budget estimates (BE). The fiscal deficit represents the total expenditure, minus the total receipts.

The government has targeted a fiscal deficit of 3.9 percent of GDP for the this fiscal.

Tax revenue during the period in consideration came in at Rs 6.22 lakh crore, or 67.6 percent of the full year BE of Rs.9.19 lakh crore.

The total receipts during the period under review has been Rs.8.25 lakh crore, against the budget amount for the full fiscal year of Rs.12.21 crore.

The CGA data revealed that the total expenditure (plan and non-plan) during the first nine months of the fiscal stood at Rs.13.13 lakh crore, as against the budgetary target of Rs.17.77 lakh crore.

Furthermore, the data disclosed that the revenue deficit during the period under review stood at Rs.3.22 lakh crore, or 81.7 percent of BE for 2015-16.