Fiscal deficit touches Rs 5.41 lakh crore between April and August

India's fiscal deficit for five months in this fiscal from April to August has touched Rs 5.42 lakh crore ($66.56 billion), which is 31.1 per cent of the total annual estimates, data released by the Controller General of Accounts on Friday showed. As per the data, net tax receipts rose to about Rs 7 lakh crore while the total expenditure was around Rs 13.9 lakh crore. As per the Finance Ministry, the Centre is targeting a fiscal deficit of Rs 16.61 lakh crore for FY23, or 6.4 percent of GDP.

Fiscal Deficit 2022023 (Figures in Rs crore)

Months	Monthly	Year to date	Monthly	Year to date
	2022-23	2022-23	2021-22	2021-22
April	74,846	74,846	78,699	78,699
May	129,075	203,921	44,475	123,174
June	147,950	351,871	151,071	274,245
July	-11,040	340,831	46,898	321,143
August	200,770	541,601	146,866	468,009

Source: Controller General of Accounts

The fiscal deficit in the first five months of FY22 was Rs 4.68 lakh crore. As such, the fiscal deficit in April-August of the current financial year is 15.7 per cent higher on a year-on-year basis. 

During her Budget speech in February, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had set the fiscal deficit target to 6.4 per cent of GDP, Rs 16.61 lakh crore, for this fiscal, 2022023, as compared to 6.7 per cent in 2021-22. 

After recording a surplus of Rs 11,040 crore in July, the Centre posted a fiscal deficit of Rs 2.01 lakh crore in August. The July figures were recorded for the first time in 28 months after the slump during the pandemic period. The last time the central government’s monthly accounts were in surplus was in March 2020. 

The total expenditure was recorded Rs 2.63 lakh crore in August, which has dropped by 3.3 per cent. The capital expenditure was up by 0.5 per cent from the last year to Rs 43,658 crore. 

There was a rise in the expenditure in August as the Centre released Rs 1.17 lakh crore to states as tax devolution on August 10 mostly after assessing that its collections were doing well with business activities going up.

Total Expenditure (Figures in Rs. in Crore) 

Months	Monthly	Year to date	Monthly	Year to date
	2022-23	2022-23	2021-22	2021-22
April	274829	274829	226690	226690
May	310945	585774	251271	477961
June	362137	947911	343683	821644
July	178834	1126745	182796	1004440
August	263281	1390026	272241	1276681

Source: Controller General of Accounts

But the net tax revenue fell 70.7 per cent year-on-year to Rs 33,882 crore. The non-tax revenue jumped 213.2 per cent to Rs 27,221 crore.  

In a nutshell, the Centre's total receipts stood at Rs 8.48 lakh crore in August, up 4.9 per cent, while the total expenditure was 8.9 per cent higher at Rs 13.90 lakh crore. 

Despite the spike in fiscal deficit, the government has also cut its market borrowing for the financial year by Rs 10,000 to Rs 14.21 lakh crore, as per its borrowing calendar for the fiscal second half.