FY18 fiscal deficit to be below revised target as govt gets RBI, FCI boost

RBI has transferred Rs 100 bn more in surplus, and FCI has returned Rs 500 bn to the central coffers

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Food Corporation of India (FCI) came to the aid of the government in bringing down its fiscal deficit for 2017-18, slightly below the Revised Estimates (RE) of Rs 5.95 trillion. The deficit clawed back from a Rs 1.2-trillion overshoot at the end of February. 

This was achieved primarily because the RBI transferred an additional Rs 100 billion in surplus to the exchequer and the FCI returned about Rs 500 billion, it was allocated, to the finance ministry.

The fiscal deficit for April-February 2017-18 was Rs 7.16 trillion, 120 per cent of the RE for