 "Fiscal deficit at 74% of BE")
Meanwhile, the fiscal deficit stood at 6.3 per cent of the GDP in the first half of the financial year (FY16). However, the disinvestment by the government in the past four months of FY16 will narrow it further. The fiscal deficit is targeted at 3.9 per cent of the GDP this financial year.
The government's Plan capital spending accounted for 66.5 per cent of what has been estimated in the Budget for FY16 in the first seven months. The plan capital spend in October was 70 per cent higher compared to the corresponding month last year.
The government is targeting economic growth between 7.5 per cent and eight per cent during FY16. The GDP growth in the first half stood at 7.2 per cent.
August saw a fiscal surplus as the capital expenditure by the government was the lowest.
Plan expenditure as a whole reached 58.2 per cent of the Budget target by October, against 46.4 per cent in the year-ago period.
The revenue collections were up 25 per cent in October from last year gaining substantially from healthy growth in indirect tax collections due to additional revenue measures. The Centre's indirect tax mop-up rose 35.9 per cent in the first seven months of 2015-16 on account of excise increases on diesel and petrol, withdrawal of exemptions for motor vehicles, capital goods and consumer durables and the increase in service tax rate from 12.36 per cent to 14 per cent. Besides, the government introduced the Swachh Bharat cess of 0.5 per cent with effect from November 15, whose impact will be visible from next month.
So far, the disinvestment department has raked in nearly Rs 13,000 crore from stake sales in IndianOil (IOC), Dredging Corporation of India, Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and Rural Electrification Corporation (REC).
The government is also in the process of finalising a policy framework to sell or revive loss-making state-owned companies across sectors.
The government beat its own fiscal deficit target last year by containing it at 3.99 per cent of GDP into Rs 5.01 lakh crore against the target of 4.1 per cent. According to the fiscal consolidation road map outlined in Budget 2015-16, fiscal deficit is to be brought down to 3.9 per cent of GDP in the current financial year, then to 3.5 per cent in 2016-17 and further to three per cent by 2017-18.
In the current financial year, the finance ministry is expecting a shortfall in the total tax collections on account of lower than estimated revenue from direct taxes. The Centre is looking at five to seven per cent shortfall in tax revenue collection, with a Rs 50,000 crore lower revenue compared to Rs 14.5 lakh crore budgeted for the financial year. The non-debt capital receipts at Rs 19,636 crore up to October were only 24.5 per cent of what has been budgeted for the financial year. In the seven months of FY16, the government has been able to sell stake only in four companies - PFC, REC, Dredging Corporation and IOC to net Rs 12,600 crore.
The government has budgeted to raise Rs 69,500 crore through disinvestment in the current financial year. The government has Cabinet approval for a stake sale in 20 public sector firms including OIL, Nalco, NMDC, NTPC, ONGC and BHEL, but has put them on hold on account of volatile market conditions. The government is also planning a 10 per cent stake sale in Coal India. In FY15, around Rs 25,000 crore was raised through disinvestment against the target of Rs 58,425 crore.