April-Sept fiscal deficit touches nearly 83 per cent of Budget estimates

The country's fiscal deficit touched 82.6 per cent of the Budget Estimates for 2014-15 to cross Rs 4.38 lakh crore at the end of September.

During the same period of the previous 2013-14 fiscal, the deficit stood at 76 per cent of the Budget estimates (BE).

Net tax receipts in the first half of the current fiscal stood at Rs 3.23 lakh crore, or 33.1 per cent of BE, according to data released by the Controller General of Accounts on Friday.

Total government expenditure during April-September was over Rs 8.62 lakh crore or 48 per cent of the estimates for the entire 2014-15 fiscal year.

Of the total expenditure, planned spending stood at over Rs 2.46 lakh crore, while non-planned spending was Rs 6.15 lakh crore.

Revenue collection was over Rs 4.17 lakh crore or 35.1 per cent of the BE for the period.

Total receipts (from revenue and non-debt capital) of the government during the first six months of the fisal were over Rs 4.23 lakh crore.

Official data showed that the revenue deficit during the period was over Rs 3.45 lakh crore or 91.2 per cent of the full year target.

In the previous fiscal year, the fiscal deficit was over Rs 5.08 lakh crore or 4.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). In 2012-13 the figure stood at 4.9 per cent of GDP.

For FY15, the government has pegged fiscal deficit - gap between government expenditure and revenue - at Rs 5.31 lakh crore or 4.1 per cent of GDP.

To reduce the fiscal deficit to a seven-year low level, the government had on Thursday announced a slew of austerity measures aimed at cutting non-plan spending by 10 per cent.

As per the measures, the government has banned first class air travel for bureaucrats, meetings in five-star hotels and purchase of cars. The Finance Ministry also decided to freeze new appointments.

"Such measures are intended at promoting fiscal discipline, without restricting the operational efficiency of the government," a finance ministry statement said.

The government had put in place a fiscal consolidation roadmap, according to which the fiscal deficit has to be brought down to 3 per cent of the GDP by the 2016-17 fiscal.