Fiscal deficit till February hits 83 per cent of FY23 target at Rs 14.5 lakh crore

April 3, 2023

Fiscal deficit till February hits 83 per cent of FY23 target at Rs 14.5 lakh crore: According to data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), the central government’s fiscal deficit reached 82.8% of the full-year target at the end of February. The fiscal deficit represents the gap between the government’s expenditure and revenue collection during the April-February period, and it amounted to Rs 14.53 lakh crore in actual terms.

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All About The Controller General of Accounts (CGA) New Data On Fiscal Deficit, Tax Collection, Govt Expenditure and more:

When compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year, the fiscal deficit at the end of February this year was marginally higher, reaching 82.8% of the current fiscal year’s Revised Estimate (RE). The CGA’s data also showed that the net tax collection during the first 11 months of the current fiscal year was Rs 17,32,193 crore, which is equivalent to 83% of the RE for 2022-23. In contrast, during the same period last fiscal year, the net tax collection stood at 83.9% of the RE for 2021-22.
According to CGA data, the government’s total expenditure during the April-February period of the current fiscal year was Rs 34.93 lakh crore, accounting for 83.4% of the year’s Revised Estimate (RE). Out of this amount, Rs 29,03,363 crore was spent on Revenue Account, while Rs 5,90,227 crore was spent on Capital Account. A significant portion of the revenue expenditure was spent on interest payments, which amounted to Rs 7,98,957 crore, while Rs 4,59,547 crore was spent on major subsidies.
While there may be some deviations from revised estimates for corporate tax, disinvestment receipts, and certain categories of expenditures as a result of the supplementary demand for grants, the rating agency Icra does not expect the fiscal deficit to exceed the revised target of Rs 17.6 lakh crore for 2022-23.
The government aims to bring the fiscal deficit below 4.5% of the GDP by 2025-26, and the fiscal deficit target for 2023-24 was set at 5.9% of the GDP in the Union Budget presented in February. The government borrows from the market to finance its fiscal deficit.