Centre's fiscal deficit at 18.2% of annual target after June; tax collections improve

New Delhi: The Central Government’s budget shortfall stood at 18.2 percent of its full-year target at the end of June, the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) said on Friday. Put simply, the government had used about one‑fifth of the money it plans to borrow for the whole year in the first three months.

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What this means in rupees?

The fiscal deficit — the difference between what the government spends and what it earns — was Rs 3,07,833 crore in April–June 2026.

For the whole year, the government plans to keep this gap at Rs 16.96 lakh crore, or 4.3 percent of the country’s GDP.

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How revenues and spending are tracking

Tax receipts are doing better than a year ago. Net tax revenue was Rs 6.36 lakh crore in the first quarter, which is 22.2 percent of the amount the government expects to collect this year. By comparison, this figure was 19 percent at the same time last year.

Total government spending in April–June was Rs 13.57 lakh crore, about 25.4 percent of the year’s budgeted spending, slightly higher than the 24.1 percent seen in the same quarter a year earlier.

Why this matters?

A rising share of tax receipts is a positive sign. It means the government is collecting more revenue early in the year, which can reduce the need to borrow later. However, spending is also running a bit faster than last year, and the fiscal deficit is already close to a fifth of the annual target.

Policymakers will watch both sides — how quickly revenues grow and how fast spending continues — to see if they need to rein in borrowing later in the year.

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