India's fiscal deficit touched 82.7% of full-year target at end of Feb

The Centre's fiscal deficit at the end of February stood at 82.7 per cent of the full year budget target, mainly on account of higher expenditure, according to government data released on Thursday.

In the last financial year, the fiscal deficit or gap between the expenditure and revenue was 76 per cent of the Revised Estimate (RE) of 2020-21.

In actual terms, the deficit stood at Rs 13.16 trillion at the end of February this year, as per the data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA).

The central government's total receipts stood at Rs 18.27 trillion or 83.9 per of the RE of Budget 2021-22. It was 88.2 per cent of the RE of 2020-21 in the corresponding period.

The government's total expenditure was at Rs 31.43 trillion or 83.4 per cent of the current year's RE. It was 81.7 per cent of RE in the corresponding period last financial year.

The government expects the fiscal deficit to be at 6.9 per cent of the GDP or Rs 15.91 trillion in the current financial year ending March 31, 2022.