Centre`s fiscal deficit touches 46.5% of full-year target in April-October: CGA
The Controller General of Accounts (CGA) in its latest data showed the Centre's fiscal deficit at the end of the first seven months (April-October) of financial year 2024-25 touched 46.5 per cent of the full-year target. In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit -- the gap between government's expenditure and revenue -- was at Rs 7,50,824 crore during April-October period. The deficit stood at 45 per cent of the Budget Estimates (BE) in the corresponding period of 2023-24. In the Union Budget, the government projected to bring down the fiscal deficit to 4.9 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP)in the current 2024-25 financial year. The deficit was 5.6 per cent of the GDP in 2023-24. In absolute terms, the government aims to contain the fiscal deficit at Rs 16,13,312 crore during the current fiscal.
CGA said the revenue-expenditure data of the Union government for the first seven months of 2024-25 showed that the net tax revenue was about Rs 13 lakh crore or 50.5 per cent of budget estimate for the current fiscal. The net tax revenue collection was 55.9 per cent at September-end of 2023. The central government's total expenditure in the seven months through October stood at Rs 24.7 lakh crore or 51.3 per cent of budget estimate. Expenditure was 53.2 per cent of budget estimate in the year-ago period. Of the total expenditure, Rs 20 lakh crore was in the revenue account and Rs 4.66 lakh crore in the capital account.
According to the data, out of the total revenue expenditure, Rs 5,96,347 crore was on account of interest payments and Rs 2,48,670 crore towards major subsidies. Out of the total receipts up to October, Rs 7.22 lakh crore has been transferred to state governments as devolution of share of taxes by government of India, which is Rs 1.94 lakh crore higher than the previous year. Fiscal deficit is the difference between the total expenditure and revenue of the government. It is an indication of the total borrowing that is needed by the government.