 "Fiscal deficit for Apr-Nov narrows to 50.7% at Rs 9.07 trillion: Govt")
India's fiscal deficit so far in 2023-24, between April and November, narrowed to 50.7 per cent of the annual expenses to Rs 9.07 trillion, as compared to 58.9 per cent in the same period last year. It is the difference between the total revenue and total expenditure of a government in a financial year.
April-November net tax revenues were 14.36 trillion rupees, or about 62 per cent of the annual estimate, compared with Rs 12.25 trillion in the same period last year, according to government data.
The total expenditure during the period was Rs 26.52 trillion, or about 59 per cent of the annual goal, compared with 24.43 trillion rupees in the same period last year.
In the first eight months of the financial year, government capital expenditure or spending on building physical infrastructure was Rs 5.86 trillion, or 58.5 per cent of the annual target, higher than Rs 4.47 trillion in the same period a year earlier.
During her Budget 2023 announcement, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that India aims to narrow the fiscal deficit gap to 5.9 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) from 6.4 per cent in FY23.
Earlier this month, Finance Minister for State Bhagwat Karad said that the Centre was confident of meeting the target of 5.9 per cent in FY24. In the first seven months of FY24, the fiscal deficit was Rs 8.04 trillion or 45 per cent of the whole year estimate.
"Tax and non-tax receipts constitute a major proportion of the government's total non-debt receipts. The government is likely to achieve the fiscal deficit target of 5.9 per cent of the GDP in the current financial year 2023-24," he told Lok Sabha.
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Moreover, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in a study revealed earlier this month that The improved revenue mobilisation by the Centre and States has helped to contain the gross fiscal deficit (GFD) of the general government within seven per cent of GDP in Q1 and Q2 of 2023-24.
The study “Government Finances 2023-24: A Half-Yearly Review” in the December 2023 bulletin said the Centre recorded robust tax collections - both direct and indirect taxes. This reflected a sustained recovery of the economy, enhanced tax governance and administration as well as improved profitability of the corporate sector.
Lower disinvestment receipts are likely to be offset by sharp gains in non-tax revenues, mainly attributable to higher dividends from the Reserve Bank and other financial institutions.
On the expenditure front, the capex thrust has ensured significant improvement in the quality of expenditure of the Central government. The Centre achieved more than half of its budgeted revenue in (H1Fy24) while containing its expenditure to less than half of what it had projected for the entire financial year. This would augur well for the Centre to meet its GFD target of 5.9 per cent of GDP for 2023-24, it added.
(With agency inputs)