Fiscal Deficit for April-December

The data shows that the fiscal deficit touched 112.4 per cent of the full-year budget target of Rs 6.24 lakh crore at the end of December. The important data highlights related to the fiscal deficit are:

• The gap between Government’s expenditure and revenue stood at Rs 7.01 lakh crore during April-December of the current financial year which ends in March.
• The deficit was 113.6 per cent of the Budget Estimate by the end of December.
• The government had earlier budgeted to cut the fiscal deficit to 3.3 per cent of GDP or Rs 6.24 lakh crore in 2018-19, from 3.53 per cent in the previous financial year.
• The interim budget for 2019-20 revised the fiscal deficit upwards marginally to 3.4 per cent of GDP or over Rs 6.34 lakh crore, on account of the additional outlay of Rs 20,000 crore for funding income scheme for small farmers.
• The revenue receipts of the government totalled Rs 10.84 lakh crore or 62.8 per cent of BE in 2018-19 till December, compared with 66.9 per cent during the same period last year.
• The revenue receipts stood at 66.9 per cent during the same period last year.
• The earlier estimate to mobilise Rs 17.25 lakh crore revenue during the current fiscal has been revised upwards to over Rs 17.29 lakh crore in the 2019-20 interim budget.
• Tax revenue was 63.2 per cent of budget estimates compared with 73.4 per cent in the comparable period of the previous year.
• The total expenditure of the government at December-end was Rs 18.32 lakh crore or 75 per cent of budget estimates.

The increase in the fiscal deficit has been attributed to lower revenue collections.

Month: Current Affairs - February, 2019