Fiscal deficit at 83.2 pc of budgetary target in Apr-June

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SME Times News Bureau | 31 Jul, 2020
India's budgetary fiscal deficit for the April-June 2020-21 period stood at Rs 6.62 lakh crore, or 83.2 per cent of the budget estimates (BE).

The 2020-21 deficit -- the difference between revenue and expenditure -- has been pegged at Rs 7.96 lakh crore, as compared to the revised deficit of Rs 7.66 lakh crore for the last fiscal.

As per the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) data released on Friday, the fiscal deficit during the corresponding months of the previous fiscal was 61.4 per cent of that year's target.

The Central government's total expenditure stood at Rs 8.15 lakh crore (26.8 per cent of BE) while total receipts were Rs 1.53 lakh crore (6.8 per cent of BE).

Furthermore, the CGA data, showed that net tax revenue during the period under review was Rs 1.34 lakh crore, or 8.2 per cent of the budget estimated target.

The total receipts -- from revenue and non-debt capital -- during the fiscal 's first quarter (April-June) were Rs 1.50 lakh crore, or at 7.4 per cent of the estimates for the current financial year.

The revenue deficit during the period under review was over Rs 5.77 lakh crore, or 94.8 per cent, of the estimates.

According to ICRA's Principal Economist Aditi Nayar, the net tax revenues of the Centre, non tax revenues and disinvestment proceeds together are expected to trail the budgeted level by more than Rs 6 trillion, highlighting the extent of the revenue shock being faced by the government.

"Taking into account the fiscal support announced by the government under the 'Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan' and the expenditure management measures that have been put in place, which could result in moderate compression in expenditure, our baseline estimate is that the GoI's fiscal deficit will surge to Rs 13 trillion in FY2021 from the budgeted level of Rs 8 trillion," Nayar said.

"This anticipated fiscal slippage, even in our base case scenario, exceeds the extent by which the Centre's market borrowings have already been increased."