According to the data released by the Controller General of Accounts, India has reported a fiscal deficit of $62.57 billion (Rs 4.29 lakh crore) for the April-June quarter. It means it has reached 68.7 percent of the budgeted target of Rs 6.24 lakh crore for the current fiscal year of 2018-19 compared to 80.8 percent in the same period of the previous year. The fiscal deficit is the difference between the earnings made by the government and its expenditure.

Back in the same quarter of 2017-18, the government's finances were constrained owing to the revision of the deficit target upwards to implement the new tax system-GST, that was launched on 1 July 2017.

For the first quarter of fiscal year ended March 2019, net tax receipts were Rs 2.37 lakh crore, that is 16 percent of the budgeted full-year target.

India aims to trim the deficit to 3.3 percent of GDP (gross domestic product) in this fiscal year, after meeting an upwardly revised fiscal deficit target of 3.5 percent of GDP in the FY 2017-18.

The government's total expenditure for the quarter rose to Rs 7.07 lakh crore, or 29 percent of the full-year target, while revenue receipts stood at 15.5 percent of the target i.e. Rs 2.67 lakh crore.