Fiscal deficit in the first seven months (April-October) reached Rs 4.11 lakh crore, or 74 per cent of the budget estimate for the whole year, a sharp improvement from a year ago when it was nearly 90 per cent of estimates. The fiscal deficit represents the total expenditure, minus the total receipts.
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Total receipts stood at ₹6,10,374 crore, amounting to half of the full fiscal target between April and October 2015, as against ₹4,86,337 crore a year ago.
Net tax receipts were 4.29 trillion rupees ($64.37 billion) in the first seven months of the fiscal year that ends in March 2016, while total spending touched 10.22 trillion rupees. The government has already raised 50% of its budgeted receipts by the end of October, largely because of a jump in non-tax revenues.
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As per the Controller General of Accounts, as opposed to a fiscal deficit target of Rs.555,649 crore, the actual number has been Rs.411,246 crore. During the same period past year, the government had managed to achieve 46.4% of the plan expenditure estimate. The government’s plan expenditure during the period was Rs.2.70 trillion, 58.2% of the full-year BE. For 2015-16, the government aims to restrict fiscal deficit to Rs.5.55 trillion, or 3.9% of GDP. The government maintained its fast pace capital spending in a bid to revive investments.
