Comparatively, in FY24, at the end of June, the fiscal deficit was ₹4.5 lakh crore, 25.3% of the budget estimate. The government has budgeted a fiscal deficit of ₹16.9 lakh crore, or 4.9% of the gross domestic product (GDP).
Fiscal deficit is the excess of expenditure over revenues that is met through borrowings.
The net tax revenue was ₹5.5 lakh crore in the first quarter, or 21.1% of the budget estimate for the current fiscal.
The net tax revenue collection was 18.6% of the budget at the end of June in FY24. The Centre’s total expenditure in the first quarter was ₹9.7 lakh, or 20.4% of the budget estimate compared with 23% a year ago, indicating the slow pace of spending in the election quarter.The total expenditure in the quarter comprised ₹7.88 lakh crore on the revenue account and the balance ₹1.81 lakh crore towards the capital account.”The GoI’s capex was tepid at ₹374 billion in June 2024, as compared to ₹1.1 trillion in June 2023,” said Aditi Nayar, chief economist, ICRA.
“To meet the FY2025 BE, ₹9.3 trillion of capex needs to be incurred in the last three quarters of the year, a growth of 39% relative to the same period of FY2024 (₹6.7 trillion), which appears quite challenging.”
In May this year, the RBI transferred ₹2.1 lakh crore dividend to the government.