Achieving a fiscal miracle

The government managed to recover more by way of loan repayments and increase its disinvestment receipts over and above what was mentioned in the revised estimates

The Union government’s net tax revenue for the full year of 2018-19 is now estimated at Rs 13.17 trillion, according to the latest numbers released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA). This represents a shortfall of Rs 1.67 trillion over the revised estimates presented just four months ago in the government’s interim Budget presented to Parliament. This is a huge shortfall equivalent to about 0.9 per cent of India’s gross domestic product (GDP). And yet, the government has managed to keep the fiscal deficit for 2018-19 within 3.4 per cent of GDP, the revised estimates figure mentioned in the