At Rs 1.37 lakh crore, April fiscal deficit crosses 25% mark

Fiscal deficit in April came in at Rs 1.37 lakh crore, which is 25.7% of the Budget estimate for 2016-17.

By definition, the fiscal deficit is the gap between expenditure and revenue, which for the whole fiscal has been pegged at Rs 5.33 lakh crore.

The deficit in April last fiscal was 23% of the Budget estimate.

For 2016-17, the government has set a fiscal deficit target of 3.5%.

According to data released by the Controller and Accounts General, total expenditure of the government in April read Rs 1.61 lakh crore, or 8.2% of the full-year estimate.

Of the total expenditure, Plan spending was Rs 45,543 crore while for non-plan, it was Rs 1,16,442 crore.

Revenue collection was Rs 22,075 crore, or 1.6% of the estimate.

Total receipts of the government -- from revenue and non-debt capital -- in April stood at Rs 24,659 crore.

The revenue deficit during the month was Rs 1,19,075 crore, or 33.6%, it said.

Revenue deficit refers to the shortfall in total government revenue realisation from the targeted figure.