Official data released on Wednesday revealed that the central government’s fiscal deficit touched 20.5 per cent of the annual target in the July 2022 quarter compared to 21.3 per cent a year ago. This reflects improvement in public finance. The fiscal deficit, which is the difference between expenditure and revenue, was Rs 3, 40,831 crores during the financial year’s April-July period.

According to the data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), the government’s receipts (including taxes) stand at Rs 7.85 lakh crore or 34.4 per cent of the Budget Estimates (BE) for the year 2022-23. This remains almost the same as the year-ago period at 34.6 per cent.

The tax revenue stands at Rs 6.66 lakh crore, 34.4 per cent of this year’s BE. In 2021, the government managed to mop 34.2 per cent of its annual estimate from April-July.

The official data states that the central government’s total expenditure for BE 2022-23 was Rs 11.26 lakh crore (or 28.6 per cent of the BE 2022-23). Also, the capital expenditure (Capex) was 27.8 per cent of the full-year budget target compared to 23.2 per cent in the corresponding period last year.

A fiscal deficit reflects the government’s borrowings from the market. As per the estimates, the government’s fiscal deficit will be at Rs 16.61 lakh crore or 6.4 per cent of the GDP for 2022-23.