Centre's Fiscal Deficit Touches Nearly 60% of Full-Year Target at End-Dec

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New Delhi: The government's fiscal deficit as of end-December touched 59.8 percent of the full-year Budget Estimate on subdued growth in revenue collections, according to finance ministry data released on Tuesday. In actual terms, the fiscal deficit -- which is the difference between expenditure and revenue -- was Rs 9,92,976 crore during the April-December period of 2022-23. In the corresponding period last year, the deficit was 50.4 percent of the Budget Estimates (BE) for 2021-22.

The government has budgeted a fiscal deficit of Rs 16.61 lakh crore or 6.4 percent of the GDP in the current financial year ending March 2023. The deficit is funded by market borrowing. ()

As per the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) data, the net tax revenue at Rs 15.55 lakh crore was 80.4 percent of BE 2022-23. During the corresponding period of 2021-22, the net tax revenue was 95.4 percent of that year's BE. ()

Non-tax revenue was at Rs 2.14 lakh crore or 79.5 percent of BE. In the last fiscal, the collection by December was 106.7 percent of BE. The central government's total expenditure during April-December works out to be 71.4 percent of BE for 2022-23, lower than 72.4 percent of BE in the year-ago period.

Capital expenditure stood at Rs 4.89 lakh crore or 65.4 percent of BE in end-December. The CAPEX was 70.7 percent of BE during the corresponding period last fiscal.

As per the CGA data, the central government's total receipts, including non-tax revenue, stood at Rs 18.25 lakh crore or 79.9 percent of the current year's BE. In the year-ago period, the total receipts had touched 89.1 percent of BE 2021-22.