Fiscal deficit narrows to ₹7.51 tn in Apr-Oct

The government's total expenditure during the period stood at ₹24.7 tn

- Nikita Prasad & Rhik Kundu

India's fiscal deficit for the April-October period stood at ₹7.51 trillion, 46.5% of the estimate for 2024-25, according to the data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) on Friday.

The latest figure is lower than ₹8.04 trillion a year ago due to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) dividend and subdued government capex during the first quarter amid the general elections, though tax receipts remained flat.

The Union government's fiscal deficit target is 4.9% of the gross domestic product (GDP) for 2024-25 (FY25), as announced by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Union Budget 2024-25 against 5.6% in 2023-24, which was lower than the revised estimates of 5.8%.

During the April-October period, net tax receipts stood at ₹13.05 trillion, or 50.5% of the target set in the annual budget in July, against ₹13.02 trillion in the same period of the previous year, the CGA data showed.