In news

The government’s fiscal deficit has widened further to Rs 9.53 lakh crore, which is nearly 120 per cent of the annual budget estimate, at the end of October of the current financial year.

Highlights

• The deficit primarily widened on account of poor revenue realisation.
• The lockdown imposed to curb spreading of coronavirus infections had significantly impacted business activities and in turn contributed to sluggish revenue realisation.
• The deficit at the end of September 2020 was around 114.8 per cent of the annual budget estimate.

Stats

• The fiscal defict or gap between the expenditure and revenue had breached the annual target in July this year.
• The government received Rs 7,08,300 crore -- which is 31.54 per cent of 2020-21 budget estimate of total receipts  up to October.
• It comprised Rs 5,75,697 crore of tax revenue (net to centre), Rs 1,16,206 crore of non-tax revenue and Rs 16,397 crore of non-debt capital receipts.

Fiscal Deficit

• It is the difference between the total income of the government (total taxes and non-debt capital receipts) and its total expenditure.
  
• The government describes fiscal deficit of India as “the excess of total disbursements from the Consolidated Fund of India, excluding repayment of the debt, over total receipts into the Fund (excluding the debt receipts) during a financial year”.

Source: The Hindu