Centre's fiscal deficit touched 82.7% of this year's target by end of February, govt data shows

The Centre's fiscal deficit at the end of February stood at 82.7 percent of the full year budget target, mainly on account of higher expenditure, according to government data released on Thursday. In the last financial year, the fiscal deficit or gap between the expenditure and revenue was 76 percent of the Revised Estiamate (RE) for 2020-21.

In actual terms, the deficit stood at nearly Rs 13.17 lakh crore at the end of February this year, as per the data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA). The central government's total receipts stood at Rs 18.27 lakh crore or 83.9 percent of the RE of Budget 2021-22. It was 88.2 percent of the RE of 2020-21 in the corresponding period.

The government's total expenditure was at Rs 31.43 lakh crore or 83.4 percent of the current year's RE. It was 81.7 percent of RE in the corresponding period last financial year. The government expects the fiscal deficit to be at 6.9 per cent of the GDP or Rs 15.91 lakh crore in the current financial year ending March 31, 2022.