April-June fiscal deficit hits 82% of FY target

Revenue deficit exceeds target

The Centre’s fiscal deficit for the April-June quarter was Rs 4.42 lakh crore, or 81.8 per cent of the full-year target of Rs 5.46 lakh crore. This compares with 61.1 per cent for the year-ago period.

The jump in fiscal deficit is primarily a result of massive front-loading of expenditure due to the advancement of the Budget from March 28 to February 1.

Additionally, revenue deficit for April-June 2017-18 was Rs 3.83 lakh crore, about 119 per cent of the full year target of Rs 3.22 lakh crore, and compared with 79.6 per cent for the corresponding period last year, according