A day before Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will present Budget 2017-18, official data released on Tuesday indicates that the Centre’s fiscal math may be going awry with expenditure outpacing receipts.

The fiscal deficit had touched 94 per cent of the full-year target by December 2016, while the revenue deficit breached the Budget Estimate (BE) in nine months of the fiscal, according to data released by the Controller General of Accounts.

The fiscal deficit rose to 93.9 per cent of the BE of ₹5,01,250 crore between April and December 2016, as against the full-year target of ₹5,33,904 crore. The figure for the year-ago period was a significantly lower 87.9 per cent.

Meanwhile, the revenue deficit shot up to ₹3,54,296 crore or 100.1 per cent of the BE of ₹3,54,015 crore. It was much lower at 81.7 per cent of the full-year target between April and December 2015.

Worryingly, the primary deficit shot up to 425.8 per cent of the full-year target or ₹1,755,66 crore in the first three quarters. It was much lower at 186.8 per cent of the BE a year ago.

While tax revenues rose to ₹7,52,116 crore and accounted for nearly 72 per cent of the full-year target, total receipts, which include non-tax revenue and recovery of loans, was however, subdued at ₹9,68,498 crore or 67.1 per cent of the full-year target. Total expenditure rose to ₹14,69,748 crore or 74.3 per cent of the BE between April and December 2016.

Concerned by India’s tendency to spend to boost growth, as well as the high primary deficit, the Economic Survey has called for rules to contain the deficit. “Our two major fiscal crises of 1991 and 2013 were preceded by fiscal expansion,” said Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian.

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