Fiscal deficit in H1 hits 29.4% of full-year target: Govt data

New Delhi: The Centre's fiscal deficit at the end of the first half of financial year FY25 touched 29.4 percent of the full-year target, government data showed on Wednesday.

In absolute terms, fiscal deficit -- the gap between government's expenditure and revenue -- was at Rs 4,74,520 crore at September-end, according to data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA).

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The deficit stood at 39.3 percent of the Budget Estimates (BE) in the corresponding period of 2023-24.

In the Union Budget, the government projected to bring down the fiscal deficit to 4.9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the current 2024-25 financial year. The deficit was 5.6 percent of the GDP in 2023-24.

In absolute terms, the government aims to contain the fiscal deficit at Rs 16,13,312 crore during the current fiscal.

The revenue-expenditure data of the Union government for the first six months of 2024-25 showed that the net tax revenue was Rs 12.65 lakh crore or 49 percent of BE for the current fiscal.

The net tax revenue collection was 49.8 percent at September-end 2023.

The central government's total expenditure in the six months through September stood at Rs 21.11 lakh crore or 43.8 percent of BE. Expenditure was 47.1 percent of BE in the year-ago period.

Of the total expenditure, Rs 16.96 lakh crore was in the revenue account and Rs 4.15 lakh crore in the capital account.

Commenting on the CGA data, Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist, ICRA said the Centre's fiscal deficit declining to Rs 4.7 lakh crore in H1 FY25 from Rs 7 lakh crore in April-September FY24 has been aided by the Reserve Bank's dividend payment in the early part of the fiscal as well as the continuing year-on-year contraction in capital expenditure.

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

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