The Centre’s fiscal deficit has climbed to 29.9 per cent of the full-year target by the end of July, data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) on Friday.
The deficit was significantly lower at 17.2 per cent of the Budget Estimates (BE) in the same period last year. In the first quarter of 2025-26 (April-June), the figure had stood at 17.9 per cent of the annual target.
Fiscal gap widening
In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit — the gap between government expenditure and revenue — stood at Rs 4,68,416 crore in the April-July period of 2025-26.
The government has pegged the full-year fiscal deficit at 4.4 per cent of GDP, or Rs 15.69 lakh crore, for 2025-26.
Expenditure at 30.9% of full-year estimates
According to CGA, the Centre received Rs 10.95 lakh crore, or 31.3 per cent of BE 2025-26 of total receipts, up to July 2025. This included Rs 6.61 lakh crore from net tax revenue, Rs 4.03 lakh crore from non-tax revenue, and Rs 29,789 crore from non-debt capital receipts.
The government transferred Rs 4.28 lakh crore to state governments as tax devolution during the period, which is Rs 61,914 crore higher than the corresponding period last year.
On the expenditure side, the Centre spent Rs 15.63 lakh crore, amounting to 30.9 per cent of the annual target. Of this, Rs 12.16 lakh crore was on the revenue account and Rs 3.46 lakh crore on the capital account.
Out of the total revenue expenditure, Rs 4.46 lakh crore went towards interest payments and Rs 1.13 lakh crore was spent on major subsidies.
Caution on monthly figures
The CGA clarified that fiscal deficit numbers reported in monthly accounts are not necessarily indicative of the final figure for the year, as they often reflect a timing mismatch between government receipts and expenditure.