The finances of the government showed improvement during the first quarter of 2009-10, with the fiscal deficit working out to be 31 per cent of the estimates as compared to 65 per cent in the corresponding period last fiscal.
Improvement was also seen in the case of revenue deficit, which was 38.1 per cent of the Budget estimate against 138.7 per cent in the same quarter last fiscal, according to data released by the Controller General of Accounts.
Against the Budget estimate of Rs 4,00,996 crore for the entire financial year, the fiscal deficit stood at Rs 1,24,302 crore at the end of June 30, 2009.
It is to be noted that the fiscal deficit was revised upward at Rs 4,00,996 crore in the full Budget tabled in Parliament on July 6 against Rs 3,32,835 crore projected in the interim Budget in February.
The Centre's fiscal deficit is thus projected to widen to an 18-year high of 6.8 per cent of GDP in the current fiscal as the government continued to provide stimulus to the economy, necessitating higher market borrowings at around Rs 4 lakh crore.
The government's gross tax receipts are projected to come down to Rs 6.41 lakh crore this fiscal compared to Rs 6.87 lakh crore in 2008-09. But its overall expenditure is expected to rise to over Rs 10 lakh crore against over Rs 9 lakh crore last year.