The Hindu Business Line : Q1 fiscal deficit crosses 50% of entire 2006-07 estimates

With expenditure far exceeding receipts, the Centre's fiscal deficit during the first quarter of this fiscal has crossed 50 per cent of the budget estimates of Rs 1,48,686 crore for the entire 2006-07.

At Rs 77,740 crore, fiscal deficit during April-June period accounted for 52.30 per cent of the projected figure for the entire year.

During the corresponding period of 2005-06, fiscal deficit had constituted 36.1 per cent of the projections for that year.

Revenue shortfall

Revenue deficit, at Rs 70,675 crore during the first three months of the current fiscal, accounted for 83.4 per cent of the total budget estimates of Rs 84,727 crore, according to the figures released by Controller General of Accounts (CGA).

Revenue deficit had been 49.6 per cent of the total budget estimates during the corresponding period of last fiscal.

The fiscal deficit widened because total expenditure at Rs 1,31,470 crore was 23.3 per cent of the total estimates of Rs 5,63,991 crore, while receipts at Rs 53,730 crore accounted for just 12.9 per cent of the projections for the entire year.

Receipts

Revenue receipts stood at Rs 52,383 crore of which almost 85 per cent was accounted by tax revenue at Rs 44,463 crore, while revenue expenditure stood at Rs 1,23,057 crore of which major portion at almost 73 per cent was captured by non-Plan expenditure.

Close to 33 per cent of non-Plan expenditure was spent on paying interests, according to the CGA figures.

As per the Fiscal Responsibility and Budgetary Management targets, the Government has projected to bring down fiscal deficit to 3.8 per cent of GDP this fiscal and revenue deficit to 2.1 per cent.

Meanwhile, the Chief Economic Advisor, Mr Ashok Lahiri, told reporters that one should see the fiscal deficit from a longer horizon (and not on a quarterly basis).

He expressed confidence of reining in the fiscal deficit within the Budget estimate.