Fiscal deficit in Q1 at 62.8 per cent of budget estimate

The government which has come under severe fiscal stress, crossed nearly two-thirds of the deficit target for the current financial year in the first four months.

The fiscal deficit, the difference between government receipts and spending, stood at Rs3.4 lakh crore in April-July, or 62.8 per cent of the budget estimate.

The fiscal deficit had touched 51.51 per cent of the budget estimate in the April-July period of 2012-13, government data showed yesterday.

The deficit so far did not factor in a substantial portion of food and oil subsidies, which were likely to exceed budget estimates following the enactment of the Food Security Law and an oil import bill that was increasing due to a rupee depreciation of over 20 per cent.

While the government had made provision for over Rs90,000 crore as food subsidy in the budget, the actual outgo might be close to Rs1.13 lakh crore.

The subsidy on diesel and cooking fuel also may be double the provision of Rs20,000 crore.

Net tax receipts for the first four months of the fiscal year touched Rs1.45 lakh crore, while total expenditure was Rs5.21 lakh crore.

The fiscal deficit during 2012-13 was down to 4.9 per cent of GDP from 5.8 per cent a year earlier. In the current financial year, the government planned to cut the deficit to 4.8 per cent of GDP.