India’s Fiscal Deficit Inches Closer To Full Year Target
Fiscal deficit stood at around Rs 50 lakh crore in June.
India's fiscal deficit in July reached 92.4 percent of the government's target for the financial year 2017-18.
Fiscal deficit, the difference between the government's expenditure and earnings, stood at Rs 5.04 lakh crore, data released by the Controller General of Accounts showed. The Union Budget 2017-18 had set the fiscal deficit target for FY18 at Rs 5.47 lakh crore target or 3.2 percent of the gross domestic product.
The government's decision to announce an early Budget and front-load subsidy payments, in an attempt to jump-start the investment cycle, resulted in a deficit higher than the same period last year. The fiscal deficit had hit 80.8 percent of the target in June.
Net revenue from taxes stood at Rs 2.5 lakh crore, around 21 percent of what the government aims to get in the current fiscal. Non-tax revenue reached 11.5 percent of the full-year target and stood at Rs 33,136 crore.
Around 31 percent of the government's capital expenditure target was achieved in the first four months of FY18, with the total figure around Rs 95,126 crore. The government’s total spending stood at Rs 8.08 lakh crore, a little more than one-third of the FY18 target.