India's April-Aug fiscal deficit passes 109% of full year budget target

The deficit is predicted to exceed 8% of GDP in the 2020/21 fiscal year that began in April, economists said.

India is staring at a ballooning fiscal deficit against an initial estimate of 3.5% of GDP in the current financial year as the coronavirus shrinks jobs and hits tax collection, government data showed on Wednesday.

The federal fiscal deficit for the five months through August stood at Rs 8.7 trillion ($117.98 billion), or 109.3% of the budgeted target for the current fiscal year ending in March 2021.

Net federal tax receipts in the five months through August declined by about 30% year on year to Rs 2.84 trillion, even though fuel taxes rose.

The deficit is predicted to exceed 8% of