The Finance Minister has presented the last full year Budget before the 2024 general elections on February 1. One of the most important numbers presented in it was the fiscal deficit. A deficit is the amount by which total expenses of a government exceed its total earnings. It plays an essential role in determining the financial health of an economy. The lower the gap between total earnings and total expenses, the better it is for an economy.

Depending on the current deficit, adjustments are made to the budget to remedy such a situation - decide to increase revenue-generating opportunities or decrease expenses to minimise that gap. The deficit targeted for Fy24 is 5.9% of GDP.