The central government's fiscal deficit widened to Rs 9.78 lakh crore in April-November period, accounting for 58.9 percent of the full-year target, data released on December 30 by the Controller General of Accounts showed.
The fiscal deficit in the first eight months of the last financial year was 46.2 percent of last year’s target.
The Centre is targeting a fiscal deficit of Rs 16.61 lakh crore for the current financial year, or 6.4 percent of the GDP.
The total receipts during April-November stood at Rs 14.64 lakh crore or 64.1 percent of the current year's budget estimate. In the comparable year-ago period, total receipts had hit 69.8 percent of the budget estimate.
The Centre’s total expenditure during April-November stood at Rs 24.42 lakh crore, or 61.9 percent of the budget estimate, which is higher than 59.6 percent in the year-ago period.
The net tax revenue for April-November stood at Rs 12.25 lakh crore, 63.3 percent of the budget estimate, against 73.5 percent in the corresponding period of last financial year.
Capital expenditure in April-November was Rs 4.47 lakh crore, 59.6 percent of the full year target. In the comparable year-ago period, it stood at 49.4 percent of the budget estimate.
Disinvestments during the April-November period were Rs 28,399 crore, which is 44 percent of the annual target. In the corresponding period of the last fiscal, it stood at 12 percent of the full year's target.
The data has been released ahead of the rollout of the Union Budget for fiscal year 2023-24. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who is due to present the budget document on February 1, is confident that India should be able to meet its budgeted fiscal deficit target for the current financial year.
“The current situation very clearly gives me that kind of a feeling that we will be able to comply with what we have said in the budget,” Sitharaman said earlier this month in the Lok Sabha, during her response to a discussion on supplementary demand for grants.
Expectations are also rife that the Centre may keep pressing hard on the capex pedal.
In its budget for 2022-23, the Centre set itself a record capex target of Rs 7.5 lakh crore - up 35 percent from the budget estimate and 24 percent higher than the revised estimate for 2021-22 - which included Rs 1 lakh crore as a 50-year, interest-free loan to state government.
Nearly 55 percent of the capex has been achieved in the fiscal first half, Sitharaman said on December 14.
India is slated to be the fastest growing G20 economy this year but could face headwinds from tight monetary conditions amid a slowing global economy.
The RBI is widely expected to end its rate hike cycle early next year after sharp rate hikes since early May to curb red-hot inflation.
The Indian government targets lowering the fiscal deficit to below 4.5 percent of GDP by 2025-26.
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