Centre's fiscal deficit at 12.3% of FY23 target in May: official data

Total expenditure at the end of May stood at ₹5.85 lakh crore

The Central government's fiscal deficit at the end of May stood at 12.3% of the annual Budget target for 2022-23, mainly on account of higher expenditure, according to official data released on Thursday.

Fiscal deficit is the difference between total expenditure and revenue of the government. It is an indication of the total borrowings that are needed by the government.

The fiscal deficit was at 8.2% of the Budget Estimate (RE) of 2021-22 during the corresponding year-earlier period.

In actual terms, the deficit was at ₹2,03,921 crore at the end of May, as per the data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA).

The country's fiscal deficit is projected at 6.4% of the GDP for this fiscal ending March 2023 as against 6.71% for the previous year.

As per the data, the total receipts of the government at the end of May was at ₹3.81 lakh crore, or 16.7% of the BE for 2022-23. The collection was about 18% of the BE of 2021-22 in the corresponding period last fiscal.

In May, the tax (net) revenue was at 15.9% of the BE of 2022-23. In actual terms, the net tax revenue stood at ₹3,07,589 crore during April-May 2022-23.

As per the data, the central government's total expenditure at the end of May stood at ₹5.85 lakh crore, or 14.8%, of this year's BE. It was 13.7% of the BE in the corresponding year earlier period.

For 2022-23, the fiscal deficit of the government is estimated to be ₹16,61,196 crore.