India's Fiscal Deficit Reaches Rs 7.02 Lakh Crore In First Half Of FY23-24, Nears 40 Per Cent Of Annual Projection

The central government's fiscal deficit for the first half of the current financial year has reached 39.3 per cent of the annual target, a slight increase from the 37.3 per cent recorded in the previous year.

Data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) shows that the fiscal deficit, representing the gap between expenditure and revenue, amounted to Rs 7.02 lakh crore by the end of September 2023, as reported by The Times Of India.

The Union Budget had aimed to reduce the fiscal deficit to 5.9 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) for the current 2023-24 financial year.

In the preceding year, the fiscal deficit stood at 6.4 per cent of the GDP, compared to the earlier estimate of 6.71 per cent.

Meanwhile, Tax revenue reached Rs 11.60 lakh crore, equivalent to 49.8 per cent of the annual target. In the April-September period of 2022-23, net tax collection reached 52.3 per cent of the year's annual Budget Estimate (BE).

The central government's total expenditure amounted to Rs 21.19 lakh crore, equivalent to 47.1 per cent of the BE for 2023-24. This figure is slightly higher than the 46.2 per cent of the BE for 2022-23.