Fiscal deficit touches 74.5% of full year target at end-Jan: CGA data

The Centre's fiscal deficit touched 74.5% of the annual target at the end of January 2025, according to the data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA).

In actual terms, the fiscal deficit, the gap between expenditure and revenue, was ₹11,69,542 crore during the April-January 2024-25 period.

The deficit was 63.6% of Revised Estimates (RE) of 2023-24 in the year-ago period.

The CGA data showed that the central government's tax revenue (net) was ₹19.03 lakh crore or, 74.4% of the RE of 2024-25. It was at 80.9% during the corresponding year of the last financial year.

The total expenditure was at ₹35.7 lakh crore, or 75.7% of the RE, according to the revenue-expenditure data of the Union government. In the year-ago period, it was at 74.7% of that year's RE.

In the Union Budget presented in Parliament, the fiscal deficit for 2024-25 has been pegged at 4.8% of GDP (lower than the earlier estimate of 4.9%) and at 4.4% for 2025-26.

In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit for the financial year ending March 2025 is estimated at ₹15.69 lakh crore.

A fiscal deficit is the difference between the total expenditure and revenue of the government. It is an indication of the total borrowing needed by the government.