Centre's fiscal deficit till December exceeds FY19 target by 11%

On the other hand, total expenditure was up 7.8% at the end of Dec, compared to the same period last year

With indirect tax collections coming in well below expectations, the Centre’s fiscal deficit stood at Rs 7.01 trillion at the end of December, 12.4 per cent higher than the budgeted target for 2018-19 and 10.6 per cent higher than revised fiscal deficit target, the data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) showed.

To contain the deficit, the government has cut back on capital expenditure (capex), which was 61 per cent lower in December this year, compared to the same period last year.

In the first nine months of the current financial year (April to December), the Centre’s gross