Centre’s fiscal deficit touches 35% of annual target

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The Union government’s fiscal deficit has worked out to be Rs 5.26 lakh crore or 35% of the budget estimates at the end of September 2021, according to the data from the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) released Friday. The deficit figures in the current fiscal appear much better than the previous financial year, when it had soared to 114.8% of the estimates mainly on the back of an increase in expenditure to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.

The fiscal deficit or the gap between expenditure and revenue was Rs 5,26,851 crore in absolute terms by the end of August, CGA said. In the current financial year, the government expects the deficit at 6.8% of the GDP or Rs 15,06,812 crore.

The total receipts of the central government stood at Rs 10.99 lakh crore or 55.6% of the corresponding Budget Estimates (BE) 2021-22 up to September 2021, as per data. The total receipts were 25.2% of the BE of 2020-21 during the corresponding period of last financial year.

Total expenditure during the fiscal was at Rs 9.2 lakh crore

The tax revenue was only 28% of BE of 2020-21 in the year-ago period, which was at Rs 9.2 lakh crore of the total receipts.

The data from CGA further said that the total expenditure of the central government, during the first half of the fiscal year stood at Rs 16.26 lakh crore or 46.7% of the current fiscal’s BE.

Of the total expenditure, out of Rs 13,96,666 crore was on revenue account and Rs 2,29,351 crore was on capital account. Out of the total revenue expenditure, Rs 3,63,757 crore was on account of interest payments and Rs 1,80,959 crore is on account of major subsidies.

From the total expenditure, Rs 13,96,666 crore was on revenue account and Rs 2,29,351 crore was on capital account. From the total revenue expenditure, Rs 3,63,757 crore was on account of interest payments and Rs 1,80,959 crore is on account of major subsidies.

The fiscal deficit was at 9.3% of the Gross Domestic Producr (GDP), which was better than 9.5% projected in the revised estimates in the budget in February.