States report 25% decline in FY18 fiscal deficit: Icra

MUMBAI: Thirteen states have reported an average 25% decline in their fiscal deficit primarily due to a contraction in capital outlay, even though their revenue has gone up by 7.5% in the fiscal year to March 2018, says a report. However, in FY17, their revenue had gone up by 11.5%, says a report by domestic credit rating agency Icra, based on the provisional fiscal data given by the CAG of 13 states. Fiscal deficit of these 13 states sharply fell by 25.1% to ₹3.2 lakh crore in FY18 from ₹4.3 lakh crore in FY17, partly on account of the contraction in capital spending.