India's fiscal deficit touched 4.52% at February end

The governments have pegged its fiscal deficit target for 2018-19 at 3.4 per cent for which was revised upwards from the earlier 3.3 per cent.

New Delhi: The country's fiscal deficit at Rs 8.51 lakh crore at the end of February 2019 had touched 4.52 per cent of the GDP, a senior Finance Ministry source said on Thursday citing its data in this regard.

The governments have pegged its fiscal deficit target for 2018-19 at 3.4 per cent for which was revised upwards from the earlier 3.3 per cent.

The government is yet to release the fiscal deficit figure for the last financial year, including the figure for March.

At the end of February, the fiscal deficit is at Rs 8,51,499 crore had crossed 134 per cent of the budget estimate (BE). In the corresponding period of the previous year, the deficit stood at 120 per cent.

"The receipts are sufficient to cover only 61 per cent of expenditure. As a percentage to GDP, fiscal Deficit is 4.52 per cent and revenue deficit is 3.45 per cent", says the Finance Ministry note.

Till end-February, the total expenditure of the government was Rs 21,88,839 crore or 89 per cent of BE. The figure for the Corresponding Period of the Previous Year (COPPY) was 90 per cent.

It comprised Revenue Expenditure of Rs 19,15,303 crore, or at 89 per cent of BE, as compared to 88 per cent in the year-ago period and Capital Expenditure of Rs 2,73,536 crore at 87 per cent of BE.

Against this, the receipts were far less. Total receipts were Rs 13,37,340 crore by end-February, or at 73 per cent of the BE.

Gross tax collection for the period had touched Rs 16,92,110 crore or 75 per cent of the BE, against 81 per cent in the same period of the previous fiscal.

The net tax revenue to the Centre was of the order of Rs 10,93,923 crore, or 74 per cent of BE, after deducting devolution to States (Rs 5,96,667 crore) and collections under national calamity and contingency duty (NCCD) to be transferred to the National Disaster Response Fund or NDRF ( Rs 1,520 crore).

Total receipts include Net Tax Revenue to Centre (Rs 10,93,923 crore), Non Tax Revenue (Rs 1,71,755 crore) and Other Receipts (Rs 71,662 crore), the figures showed.