Budget 2023: Govt Sets FY24 Fiscal Deficit Target At 5.9 Per Cent, Aims To Bring It Down To Below 4.5 Per Cent By FY26

The Government intends to bring the fiscal deficit below 4.5 per cent of GDP by 2025-26, said Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the Union Budget 2023-24 in the Parliament today (1 February).

The Finance Minister further stated that the fiscal deficit is estimated to be 5.9 per cent of GDP in BE 2023-24.

To finance the fiscal deficit in 2023-24, the net market borrowings from dated securities are estimated at Rs 11.8 lakh crore while the balance financing is expected to come from small savings and other sources, according to a Finance Ministry release.

The gross market borrowings are estimated at Rs 15.4 lakh crore, the release added.

 In Budget Estimates 2023-24, the Finance Minister stated that the total receipts other than borrowings and the total expenditure are estimated at Rs 27.2 lakh crore and Rs 45 lakh crore, respectively.

Further, the net tax receipts are estimated at Rs 23.3 lakh crore.

In the Revised Estimate 2023-24, the Finance Minister said that the total receipts other than borrowings is Rs 24.3 lakh crore, of which the net tax receipts are Rs 20.9 lakh crore.

The Revised Estimate of the total expenditure is Rs 41.9 lakh crore, of which the capital expenditure is about Rs. 7.3 lakh crore.

Meanwhile, the Revised Estimate of the fiscal deficit is 6.4 per cent of GDP in RE 2022-23, adhering to the Budget Estimate, according to the release.

Further, the Finance Minister said that the revenue deficit is expected to be at 2.9 per cent in FY 2023-24 over 4.1 per cent in FY 2022-23.

The Gross Tax Revenue (GTR) is projected to grow at 10.4 per cent in FY 2023-24 over FY 2022-23.

Both, the direct and indirect tax receipts are individually estimated to grow at 10.5 per cent and 10.4 per cent, respectively.

It is estimated that the Direct and Indirect taxes to contribute 54.4 per cent and 45.6 per cent, respectively, to GTR, noted the fiscal policy statement.

The Tax to GDP ratio is estimated at 11.1 per cent, it added.