The fiscal deficit rose at Rs 3.66 lakh crore, or 52 per cent of the budgeted target in the first two months of FY20, official data showed on Friday. The fiscal deficit was 55.3 per cent of 2018-19 budget estimate in the year-ago period. A target of 3.4 per cent for the fiscal 2019-20, same as fiscal 2018-19 was set up by the government in the interim budget. The deficit was estimated at Rs 7.03 lakh crore for FY20 in the interim budget of February.
According to the data by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), the fiscal deficit or gap between expenditure and revenue stood at Rs 3,66,157 crore in absolute terms. During April to May FY20, the revenue receipts of the government stood at 7.3 per cent of the Budget Estimate (BE), the data also showed. The revenue receipts stood at a similar level in the year-ago period.
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Compared to 21.3 per cent in the year-ago period, the capital expenditure was only 14.2 per cent of the BE. Total expenditure during April-May period stood at Rs 5.12 lakh crore or 18.4 per cent of BE. It was 19.4 per cent of BE in the same period of the previous fiscal.
Net tax receipts in the first two months of the fiscal year were Rs. 1.15 lakh crore, while total expenditure was Rs. 5.13 lakh crore, government data showed.
What is fiscal deficit?
The difference between total revenue and total expenditure of the government is called as fiscal deficit. It indicated the total borrowings needed by the government. The borrowing are not included while calculating the total revenue. The fiscal deficit is generally reported due to deficit in revenue or rise in capital expenditure.