India’s fiscal deficit stood at 114.8% of the budgeted target at the end of November, government data showed on Thursday. Fiscal deficit occurs when a government spends more than the revenue it earns.
The tax receipts for the April-November 2018 period were Rs 8,96,583 crore, while the expenditure was Rs 16,13,208 crore, the Ministry of Finance said. This gives a fiscal deficit of Rs 7,16,625 crore, which is 14.8% above the targeted deficit for the entire 2018-’19 financial year.
The ministry also said that it has transferred Rs 4,31,963 crore to the state governments as devolution of share of taxes from April to November 2018. This is Rs 46,677 crore higher than the corresponding period last year.
The government had said it would cut the fiscal deficit to 3.3% of Gross Domestic Product in the 2018-’19 financial year, compared to the 3.53% in 2017-’18. However, it now appears that the government will miss this target, Reuters reported.
The fiscal deficit is also higher compared to the corresponding period last year. In November 2017, the fiscal deficit stood at 112% of the budgeted target, PTI reported. To curtail the fiscal deficit, the Centre will have to announce spending cuts in the remainder of the financial year.
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