Fiscal deficit hits 94% of Budget Estimates in April-December

Fiscal deficit in the first nine months of 2016-17 touched 93.9 per cent of the Budget target, against 87.9 per cent for the same period a year ago.

In value terms, the April-December fiscal deficit stood at ~5.01 lakh crore, or 93.9 per cent, of 2016-17 Budget Estimates (BE).

The fiscal deficit stood at 87.9 per cent in the corresponding nine months a year ago, according to 2015-16 BE.

Fiscal deficit, the gap between expenditure and revenue for the entire financial year, has been pegged at ~5.33 lakh crore, or 3.5 per cent of the gross domestic product, for FY2016-17.

According to data released by the Controller General of Accounts, tax revenue came in at ~7.52 lakh crore, or 71.4 per cent of the full-year BE of ~10.54 lakh crore.

Total receipts from revenue and non-debt capital of the government during the period read ~9.68 lakh crore, or 67.1 per cent of BE. A day ahead of the Budget, official numbers show precarious fiscal math

The government’s Plan expenditure during the financial year came in at ~4.10 lakh core, 74.6 per cent of the fullyear Budget estimate. During the same period last year, it stood at 74.4 per cent.

The non-Plan expenditure in April-December of 2016-17 was ~10.59 lakh crore, or 74.2 per cent, of the whole-year estimate. The total expenditure (Plan and non-Plan) was ~14.69 lakh crore, 74.3 per cent of the government’s full-year estimate of ~19.78 lakh crore.