New Delhi: India's fiscal deficit for the financial year (FY) 2021-2022 worked out to be 6.71 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), lower than 6.9 per cent projected by the Finance Ministry in the revised Budget Estimates, data released by the government on Tuesday said.
According to a report by the PTI, unveiling the revenue-expenditure data of the Union government for FY20-21, the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) said that the fiscal deficit in the absolute terms was be Rs 15,86,537 crore (provisional).
News agency the PTI has tweeted the data given by the ministry.
The revenue deficit at the end of FY21-22 was 4.37 per cent.
For the last financial year, the government had initially pegged the fiscal deficit at 6.8 per cent of the GDP in the Budget presented in February 2021.
The government in the revised estimates in the Budget for 2022-23 forecast a higher fiscal deficit of 6.9 per cent of the GDP or Rs 15,91,089 crore for the fiscal ended in March.
Meanwhile, the Indian rupee depreciated 12 paise to close at 77.66 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday, tracking a negative trend in domestic equities and surging crude oil prices.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened lower at 77.65 against the greenback and finally settled at 77.66, down 12 paise over its previous close.
During the session, the rupee touched an intra-day low of 77.70 and a high of 77.62. On Monday, the rupee settled at 77.54 against the US dollar.
This is also the fifth straight monthly decline for the rupee amid weak risk sentiments, foreign fund outflows and concerns over high inflation. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.04 per cent higher at 101.70.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures advanced 1.77 per cent to $123.82 per barrel.