Fiscal Deficit Touches 61.4 Per Cent Of Budgetary Target In First Quarter Of FY20

The fiscal deficit in the first quarter of April-June stood at 61.4 per cent of the budgetary target for the financial year (FY) 2019-20, reports Economic Times. The deficit stood at 68.7 per cent in the year-earlier period.

According to the report, the fiscal deficit stood at 4.32 lakh crore at the end of the first quarter against the full-year target of Rs 7.04 lakh crore for the FY 2019-20. The government is aiming to keep the fiscal deficit at 3.3 per cent of GDP this fiscal, same as the previous year.

The capital expenditure stood at 18.8 per cent of the annual estimate compared to 29 per cent last year. Such a development has raised fears about a decline in the growth momentum, thus denting the government's chances of meeting its fiscal deficit target.

Domain experts are concerned that the current growth momentum will have an impact on job creation and tax collection unless the consumption slow down is not reversed quickly.

Centre's total expenditure for the first three months of the current FY has reached 7.22 lakh crore or 25.9 per cent of the budget estimate, against 29 per cent a year ago. In the meantime, total receipts stand at Rs 2.9 lakh crore or 13.9 per cent of the target compared to previous year’s 15.3 per cent.

The expenditure on total subsidies has hit 51 per cent of the budgetary estimate, compared to 44 per cent for the same period in FY19. Petroleum subsidies touched 76 per cent of the estimate against 47 per cent for the previous year.