NEW DELHI : India’s fiscal deficit up to February was 20% more than the revised estimates for FY18 because of increased expenditure and subdued revenue receipts. Fiscal deficit in the April-Feb period stood at Rs 7.15 lakh crore, exceeding the revised target of Rs 5.94 lakh crore for the entire 2017-18 fiscal, as per data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA).The monthly account until February-end revealed that the government has collected Rs 12.83 lakh crore revenue, which is 79.09% of revised estimates. Of this, over Rs 10.35 lakh crore is collected from taxes, while over Rs 1.42 lakh crore and Rs 1.05 lakh crore accrued on account of nontax revenue and non-debt capital receipts, respectively. In the revised estimates for 2017-18, the government had raised the disinvestment target to Rs 1lakh crore, up from Rs 72,500 crore in the Budget estimates. Total expenditure incurred by the government during the period was more than Rs 19.99 lakh crore, which is 90.1% of the revised estimates for 2017-18.

Source: Economic Times March 28, 2018 09:44 UTC