Primary deficit in Q1 over ten times of Budget target at Rs 3 lakh cr

Widening of the deficit caused by front-loading of expenditure

The Centre's financial position would have looked too shaky in the first quarter of the current financial year had the government accepted Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian's recommendation of focusing on the primary deficit for fiscal consolidation.  

Primary deficit simply tells how the government is borrowing to meet its current expenditure. In technical terms, it is the fiscal deficit sans interest payments.  

During April-June, the primary deficit stood at 1,314 per cent of the Budget target for the entire financial year 2018 (FY'18), according to the data given by the Controller General of Accounts. 

The primary deficit was