New Delhi: India’s fiscal deficit for the first 10 months (April to January) of FY 2025-26 was Rs 9.8 lakh crore, which works out to 63 per cent of the estimate for the full financial year ending on March 31, official figures released on Friday showed.
Net tax receipts for April-January stood at Rs 20.94 lakh crore, up from Rs 19 lakh crore collected in the same period last year.
Non-tax revenue went up to Rs 5.57 lakh crore, from Rs 4.7 lakh crore in the same period of the previous year.
Total government expenditure was at Rs 36.9 lakh crore compared with Rs 35.7 lakh crore in the year ago period.
There was also an improvement in the quality of government spending as capital expenditure, which entails investments in infrastructure projects such as highways, ports and railways, shot up to Rs 8.4 lakh crore compared with Rs 7.6 lakh crore during the same period of the previous year. The rise in capex reflects the government’s continued focus on these big-ticket projects to boost growth and create more jobs in the economy.
The fiscal deficit represents the gap between the government’s total expenditure and its total revenue. The data confirms that the country is on course to meet its fiscal deficit target of 4.4 per cent for 2025-26.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has projected a further reduction in the fiscal deficit to 4.3 per cent of GDP for 2026-27 as the government continues on the path of fiscal consolidation to ensure economic growth with stability.
The Finance Minister said that the government had fulfilled its commitment to reduce the fiscal deficit to 4.4 per cent in the Budget for 2025-26 and would now reduce it further to 4.3 per cent as it continues on the fiscal prudence path.
She said that the target reflects a balance between supporting economic momentum and keeping public finances stable.
The Finance Minister also said that India’s debt:GDP ratio has come down to 56.1 per cent in 2025-26 and would be further reduced in the Budget for 2026-27 to 55.6 per cent.
The decline in the debt:GDP ratio will reduce the Government’s outgo on interest payments, which will help to keep a lower fiscal deficit and free up resources for development, she said.
(IANS)
