India’s Fiscal Deficit Update

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s fiscal deficit for April-August stood at 4.35 trillion rupees ($51.93 billion), representing 27% of the estimated deficit for the financial year, according to government data released on Monday.

Net Tax Receipts: 8.74 trillion rupees (34% of the annual target), up from 8.04 trillion rupees during the same period last year.

Total Government Expenditure: 16.52 trillion rupees (about 34% of the annual goal), down from 16.72 trillion rupees a year earlier. The decrease in spending is attributed to the general elections.

Capital Expenditure: The government allocated 3.01 trillion rupees for capital expenditure, or 27% of the annual target, compared to 3.74 trillion rupees in the first five months of the previous year.

The Indian government has set its fiscal deficit target at 4.9% of GDP in the latest budget, a decrease from 5.6% in the previous fiscal year.

(Exchange rate: $1 = 83.7740 Indian rupees)