The data released by the Ministry of Finance yesterday showed that the centre’s fiscal deficit declined to 8.1 per cent of the full-year estimate in the first quarter of the current financial year, compared with the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
The increase in tax collections and the payment of a higher surplus by the RBI to the government of 2.11 lakh crore rupees aided in restricting the fiscal deficit, which stood at 1.36 lakh crore rupees at the end of June, read the data.
On the revenue aspect, the data reveals that revenue receipts were higher at Rs 8.3 lakh crore rupees or 26.5 per cent of the full year’s target. Further, the figures showed that tax revenue was 21 per cent of the full-year estimate compared with 18.6 per cent in the previous year.
In all, the government has spent 20 per cent of its total expenditure of 48.2 lakh crore rupees budgeted for the current fiscal. In the Union Budget 2024-25, the fiscal deficit was fixed at 4.9 per cent, which was 5.1 per cent in 2023-24.