The government's fiscal deficit as of end-December touched 59.8% of the full-year Budget Estimate (BE) on subdued growth in revenue collections, according to Finance Ministry data released on Tuesday.
In actual terms, the fiscal deficit -- which is the difference between expenditure and revenue -- was ₹9,92,976 crore during the April-December period of 2022-23. In the corresponding period last year, the deficit was 50.4% of the Budget Estimates (BE) of 2021-22.
The government has budgeted fiscal deficit at ₹16.61 lakh crore, or 6.4% of the GDP, in the current financial year ending March 2023. The deficit is funded by market borrowing.
As per the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) data, the net tax revenue at ₹15.55 lakh crore was 80.4% of BE 2022-23. During the corresponding period of 2021-22, the net tax revenue was 95.4% of that year's BE.
Non-tax revenue was at ₹2.14 lakh crore or 79.5% of BE. In the last fiscal, the collection by December was 106.7% of BE.
The central government's total expenditure during April-December works out to be 71.4% of BE of 2022-23, lower than 72.4% of BE in the year-ago period.
Capital expenditure stood at ₹4.89 lakh crore or 65.4% of BE at end-December. The capex was 70.7% of BE during the corresponding period last fiscal.
As per the CGA data, the central government's total receipts, including non-tax revenue, stood at ₹18.25 lakh crore or 79.9% of the current year's BE. In the year-ago period, the total receipts had touched 89.1% of BE 2021-22.
