India's Apr-Aug fiscal deficit widens to ₹5.98 tn, 38.1% of FY26 target

The central government's fiscal deficit stood at 38.1 per cent of the full-year target at the end of August, according to data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) on Tuesday. 

In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit, or gap between the government's expenditure and revenue, was ₹5.98 trillion in the April-August period of the FY2025-26.

 

Net tax receipts stood at ₹8.1 trillion, down from ₹8.7 trillion in the same period last year, while non-tax revenue rose to ₹4.4 trillion from ₹3.3 trillion a year ago. 

The data on monthly accounts showed that the total expenditure during the period was at ₹18.8 trillion. In the year-ago period, it was at ₹16.5 trillion. 

According to the CGA, Capital expenditure, or spending on building physical infrastructure, stood at ₹4.3 trillion, up from ₹3 trillion a year ago.  According to a Business Standard report, forecasting agencies expect the Centre to maintain the fiscal deficit target of 4.4 per cent of GDP in FY26, despite the goods and services tax rate rationalisation which may cost the exchequer around 0.2 per cent of GDP.