Apr-Jul fiscal deficit at 30% of annual target

• Capex grew 33% on year in first 4 months

- FE BUREAU

THE CENTRE'S FISCAL deficit widened to 29.9% of the annual target in the first four months of 2025-26, sharply higher than 17.2% in the year-ago period, as net tax revenues continued to contract and capital expenditure accelerated.

The deficit rose to 4.7 lakh crore in April-July compared with 2.8 lakh crore in the year-ago period.

During the period, net tax revenues contracted 7.5% to 6.62 lakh crore, while non-tax revenues surged 34% on a y-o-y basis following the receipt of the higher-than-budgeted dividend transfer from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).