Govt meets fiscal deficit target of 3.5% at Rs 5.92 trillion for 2017-18

For April, capital expenditure showed a jump in absolute and in relative terms

The central government just about met its revised fiscal deficit target for 2017-18. The gap for the year ending March 31 was Rs 5.92 trillion, or 3.52 per cent of the full year’s nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Rs 167.73 trillion, showed official data released on Thursday.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in his 2018-19 budget, had revised the deficit target to Rs 5.95 trillion or 3.5 per cent of GDP, upward from the earlier Rs 5.46 trillion or 3.2 per cent. The stated reason was disruption in economic activity from lingering effects of demonetisation and rollout of a nationwide goods