India's April-Jan fiscal deficit at 64% of 2023/24 target

India's fiscal deficit for the period of April to January in the 2023/24 financial year stood at 11.03 trillion rupees ($133.1 billion), which is approximately 63.6% of the estimated deficit for the entire year, according to government data released on Thursday. During the same period, net tax revenues reached 18.80 trillion rupees, which accounts for around 81% of the yearly estimate, showing an increase from 16.89 trillion rupees in the corresponding period of the previous year. Total expenditure during this period amounted to 33.55 trillion rupees, or roughly 75% of the annual target, compared to 31.68 trillion rupees in the same period last year. Additionally, the government's capital expenditure for the first ten months of the financial year reached 7.21 trillion rupees, or 76% of the annual target, surpassing the 5.70 trillion rupees spent in the same period the previous year.

To address the fiscal deficit, India has revised its target for the current financial year, ending on March 31, to 5.8% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), reducing it by 10 basis points. Furthermore, the government aims to bring down the deficit to 5.1% in the following financial year.