New Delhi: India’s April-October budgetary fiscal deficit has reached 36.3 per cent of the FY22 target.
As per the data furnished by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), the fiscal deficit — the difference between revenue and expenditure — for the April-October 2021-22 period stood at Rs 547,026 crore, or 36.3 per cent of the budget estimates (BE).
The FY22 deficit has been pegged at Rs 15.06 lakh crore.
Besides, the CGA data showed that the fiscal deficit during the corresponding months of the previous fiscal was 119.7 per cent of that year’s target.
The Central government’s total expenditure stood at Rs 1,826,725 crore (52.4 per cent of BE) while total receipts were Rs 1,279,699 crore (64.7 per cent of BE).
ICRA Chief Economist Aditi Nayar said: “We estimate the total expenditure to overshoot the FY2022 BE by Rs 1.3-1.5 trillion, based on the net outgo related to ‘First Supplementary Demand for Grants’, recent enhancement in food subsidy outgo towards the ‘PMGKAY’, increase in fertiliser subsidy for the rabi season, and the likely enhancement in the allocation for the ‘MGNREGA’ and the new export benefit ‘RoDTEP’ scheme.”
“If the proceeds of the BPCL disinvestment and LIC IPO are both not realised in FY2022, the GoI’s fiscal deficit may print at Rs 15.8-16 trillion (6.9-7 per cent of GDP), exceeding the BE of Rs. 15.1 trillion.”
India Ratings and Research’s Principal Economist Sunil Kumar Sinha said: “Fiscal deficit in first seven months declined to Rs 201.75 billion in FY22, 36.3 per cent of full year. This is the lowest in last four years in level terms and lowest in last 13 years as percentage of full year’s fiscal deficit. This is due to a combination of high growth in revenue receipts and low revenue expenditure growth.
“While, capex growth so far has been strong in FY22, in relation to budget target, Capex in first seven months has been 45.71 per cent. Corporate tax and custom collection have led revenue receipt growth. India Ratings expects fiscal deficit in FY22 to come in at 6.2 per cent of GDP, lower than the budgeted 6.8 per cent of GDP.”
–IANS