Fiscal deficit in Q1 at 25% of FY24 target

New Delhi: The Centre’s fiscal deficit at the end of the first quarter reached 25.3 per cent of the full-year target, government data showed on Monday. In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit, the gap between expenditure and revenue, stood at Rs 4,51,370 crore at the end of June, according to data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA). The deficit in the corresponding period of the financial year 2022-23 was 21.2 per cent of the Budget Estimate (BE). In the Union Budget, the government has projected to bring down the fiscal deficit to 5.9 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the current financial year 2023-24. The deficit in 2022-23 was 6.4 per cent of GDP as against the earlier estimate of 6.71 per cent. Unveiling the central government’s revenue-expenditure data for the first three months of 2023-24, the CGA said the net tax revenue for the current fiscal stood at Rs 4,33,620 crore or 18.6 per cent of BE. Net tax revenue collection at the end of June 2022 stood at 26.1 per cent.