Fiscal deficit at 21.3% of annual target

The central government's fiscal deficit stood at Rs 3.21 lakh crore or 21.3 per cent of the budget estimates at the end of July, as per the data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) on Tuesday.

The deficit figures this fiscal appear much better than the previous financial year, when it soared to 103.1 per cent of the estimate, mainly on account of a jump in expenditure to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. The fiscal deficit or the gap between expenditure and revenue for 2020-21 was 9.3 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), better than 9.5 per cent projected in the revised estimates in the Budget in February.

As per the data, the central government's total receipts stood at Rs 6.83 lakh crore or 34.6 per cent of corresponding BE 2021-22 up to July 2021. The total receipts were 10.4 per cent of the BE of 2019-20 in the same period of the last financial year. Of the total receipts till July 2021, Rs 5,29,189 crore was tax revenue (net to centre), Rs 1,39,960 crore non-tax revenue and Rs 14,148 crore non-debt capital receipts.

Non-debt capital receipts consist of recovery of loans worth Rs 5,777 crore and disinvestment proceeds of Rs 8,371 crore. Further, Rs 1,65,064 crore was transferred to state governments as devolution of share of taxes by the Centre up to July 2021. The government's total expenditure was Rs 10.04 lakh crore or 28.8 per cent of the corresponding BE 2021-22.

The expenditure was 34.7 per cent of BE of 2019-20 in the same period last fiscal. Of the total expenditure during the first four months of the current fiscal, Rs 8,76,012 crore was on the revenue account and Rs 1,28,428 crore on the capital account. Out of the total revenue expenditure, Rs 2,25,817 crore was on account of interest payments and Rs 1,20,069 crore towards major subsidies.