Indian Government’s Fiscal Deficit For April-Nov Narrows To Rs 9.07 Trillion

The net tax revenues for the period under review stood at Rs 14.36 trillion, coming up to about 62 per cent of the annual estimate, against Rs 12.25 trillion logged in the same period a year earlier

India’s fiscal deficit narrowed to 50.7 per cent in the April to November period in the current fiscal year. The country’s fiscal deficit reduced to 50.7 per cent of the annual expenses to touch Rs 9.07 trillion, against 58.9 per cent in the corresponding period a year earlier. 

The net tax revenues for the period under review stood at Rs 14.36 trillion, coming up to about 62 per cent of the annual estimate, against Rs 12.25 trillion logged in the same period a year earlier, reported Business Standard citing government data. 

The total expenditure during the eight-month period touched Rs 26.52 trillion, at about 59 per cent of the annual target, as compared to Rs 24.43 trillion registered in the corresponding period last year. 

The government’s capital expenditure or spending on developing physical infrastructure logged at Rs 5.86 trillion, coming up to 58.5 per cent of the yearly goal, during the first eight months of the current fiscal year, against Rs 4.47 trillion seen in the same period a year earlier. 

Notably, during her Budget 2023 announcement, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, stated that the country is aiming to lower the fiscal deficit gap to 5.9 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) from 6.4 per cent in FY23. 

Earlier in the month, Minister of State for Finance, Bhagwat Karad, also stated that the government remained confident that it would meet the target of 5.9 per cent in the 2023-24 fiscal year. For the first seven months of the current fiscal, the fiscal deficit remained at Rs 8.04 trillion, coming up to 45 per cent of the annual estimate.

Further, a study by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), titled ‘Government Finances 2023-24: A Half-Yearly Review’ found that the improved revenue mobilisation by both the central government and state governments has facilitated in restricting the gross fiscal deficit (GFD) of the general government within 7 per cent of the GDP in the first two quarters of the current fiscal year.