Govt's fiscal deficit likely to be around 9% in FY21, say experts

Data to be released by month-end; FY22 gap may widen to 7.15% against BE of 6.8%, say experts

The government’s fiscal deficit for the financial year ended March 2021 (FY21) is expected to be around 9 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) compared to the revised estimate (RE) of 9.5 per cent.

However, in the current financial year (FY22, or April 2021-March 2022), the gap could be higher than the budgeted 6.8 per cent as spending is expected to go up and GDP bound to shrink owing to the second wave of Covid, say experts. 

Sources in the government say while revenue collections have exceeded RE in FY21, so has expenditure, indicating the fiscal deficit is likely to be