India’s fiscal deficit for the financial year ending on March 31 reached 17.3 trillion rupees ($209.46 billion), which is approximately 99% of the revised annual estimate.
As per a statement, the federal government achieved its targeted fiscal deficit of 6.4% of the gross domestic product, supported by increased tax revenue despite higher spending. The revised estimate for GDP will be released later today.
According to the data, net tax receipts from April to March reached 20.97 trillion rupees, equivalent to 100.5% of the annual revised estimate, marking a 15.2% increase compared to the previous financial year.
Total expenditure during the period amounted to 41.89 trillion rupees, meeting 100% of the annual target and reflecting a 10.4% increase compared to government spending in the previous year.
The government’s capital spending on infrastructure projects rose by 24.2% to 7.36 trillion rupees, contributing to the growth of the economy.
In the first month of the new financial year, April 2023, the fiscal deficit stood at 7.5% of the full-year estimate, according to the available data.
Expenditure in the initial month of the current financial year recorded a growth of 10.6% compared to the same period last year, while net tax collections experienced a decline of 14% compared to the previous year.
For the fiscal year starting April 1, India has set a target budget deficit of 5.9%.
Aditi Nayar, an economist at ICRA, mentioned that the transfer of a dividend surplus of 874.2 billion rupees from the Reserve Bank of India, which exceeded the budgeted amount, is expected to provide some cushion to compensate for any shortfall in other revenue sources or unexpected increase in expenses relative to their respective budget estimates.
