Union Budget, 2022: Fiscal Deficit Targeted At 6.4% Of GDP

In the Union Budget 2022-2023, FM Nirmala Sitharaman announces that the government's fiscal deficit is targeted at 6.4% of the country's GDP.

Earlier, in the Economic Survey 2022, the government stated, "On account of a sustained revenue collection and a targeted expenditure policy by the Government of India, the fiscal deficit for April-November 2021 has been contained at 46.2% of Budget Estimates (BE) which is nearly one-third of the proportion reached during the same period of the previous two years (135.1% of BE in April-November 2020 and 114.8% of BE in April-November 2019)."

The survey report added, "The fiscal deficit budgeted in the current year was more realistic as it brought in several off-budget items to within the budget allocation such as the food subsidy requirements of FCI. With the enhanced borrowings on account of COVID-19, the Central Government debt has gone up from 49.1% of GDP in 2019-20 to 59.3% of GDP in 2020-21 but is expected to follow a declining trajectory with the recovery of the economy. The General Government finances are also expected to witness a consolidation during 2021-22, after the uptick in deficit and debt indicators during the pandemic year 2020-21."