Fiscal Deficit Crosses 77% Of Budgeted Target For FY20 Till July

According to government data released on Friday, India's fiscal deficit touched Rs 5.47 lakh crore in the June quarter, which is 77.8 percent of the budget estimate for the financial year 2019-20.

In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit or gap between expenditure and revenue was Rs 5,47,605 crore at July-end, as per Controller General of Accounts (CGA) data.

The fiscal deficit stood at 86.5 percent of 2018-19 budget estimate in the year-ago period. The government estimates the fiscal deficit to be at Rs 7.03 lakh crore during 2019-20. The deficit is aimed to be restricted at 3.4 percent of the GDP (gross domestic product) in the current fiscal, same as the last fiscal.

The CGA data showed that revenue receipts of the government during April-July, 2019-20 remained unchanged at 19.5 percent of the Budget Estimate (BE) compared to the corresponding period last year.

In absolute terms, revenue receipts stood at Rs 3.82 lakh crore at July-end 2019. During the entire year, the revenue receipts has been pegged at Rs 19.62 lakh crore.

The capital expenditure was 31.8 percent of the BE. This compares with 37.1 percent in the year-ago period, the CGA said.

Total expenditure during April-July period stood at Rs 9.47 lakh crore or 34 per cent of the BE. It was 36.4 per cent of BE in the corresponding period last fiscal.

The government has pegged its total expenditure during the fiscal ending March 2020 at Rs 27.86 lakh crore.

Inputs from PTI