Informist, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024
NEW DELHI – The government's fiscal deficit in the first six months of 2024-25 (Apr-Mar) was INR 4.745 trillion, down 32.4% on year, data released by the Controller General of Accounts Wednesday showed. The fiscal deficit in Apr-Sept accounted for 29.4% of the target of INR 16.133 trillion set in the Union Budget for FY25.
The fiscal deficit in the first half of FY24 had accounted for 39.3% of the full-year target. The government has set a fiscal deficit target of 4.9% of GDP for FY25 against 5.6% of GDP achieved last year.
Total receipts of the government rose 15.5% on year to INR 16.370 trillion in Apr-Sept, while total expenditure was down just 0.4% at INR 21.115 trillion. Capital expenditure during Apr-Sept declined 15.4% on year to INR 4.150 trillion.
The government's capital expenditure has been low this year compared to FY24, due to the Model Code of Conduct, which was enforced on Mar. 16 and continued through April and May amid the Lok Sabha elections. The government has only spent 37.3% of its full year target of INR 11.111 trillion on capital expenditure so far this fiscal. Last year, the government had spent 49.0% of the full-year capital expenditure target during Apr-Sept.
Even as capital expenditure picked up in September at INR 1.140 trillion, the highest in FY25, it was still lower than the INR 1.168 trillion spent in the same month last year. While capital expenditure has lagged in FY25, revenue expenditure has continued to rise. Revenue spending was up 4.2% on year at INR 16.965 trillion in Apr-Sept.
To meet the FY25 Budget Estimate, the government of India needs to incur a capital expenditure of around INR 1.16 trillion per month during H2 FY25 (Oct-Mar), which entails a considerable expansion of 52% relative to H2 FY24, Aditi Nayar, chief economist at ICRA, said in a note. "This appears rather challenging at this juncture, and we expect the capex target of INR 11.1 trillion for FY25 to be missed by a margin of at least INR 0.5 trillion," Nayar said.
Total receipts of the government were up during Apr-Sept because of a sharp jump in non-tax revenue. The non-tax revenue grew 50.9% on year to INR 3.572 trillion in Apr-Sept, mainly due to the record-high surplus transfer of INR 2.11 trillion from the Reserve Bank of India in May.
Gross tax collections were up 12.0% on year at INR 18.138 trillion in Apr-Sept, led by robust income tax collections. Income-tax collections jumped 25.0% on year to INR 5.645 trillion in the first six months of this fiscal, while corporate tax mop-up increased just 2.3% to INR 4.615 trillion.
In September, the fiscal deficit slumped 33.4% on year to INR 393 billion, with total expenditure inching up 2.6% to INR 4.591 trillion and total receipts rose 8.1% on year to INR 4.198 trillion. Other receipts were up 74.0% on year at INR 23 billion last month. At INR 23 billion, other receipts in September were the highest in FY25. In Apr-Sept, other receipts were down 54.4% on year at INR 32 billion.
The Controller General of Accounts detailed the government's accounts for September and Apr-Sept as follows (in billion rupees):
| September | August | September | Year-on-year change | |
| 2024 | 2024 | 2023 | ||
| Revenue receipts | 4,140.61 | 1,912.92 | 3,835.86 | 7.9% |
| Net tax revenue | 3,913.14 | 1,586.21 | 3,563.96 | 9.8% |
| Non-tax revenue | 227.47 | 326.71 | 271.90 | (-)16.3% |
| Recovery of loans | 33.88 | 16.65 | 34.12 | (-)0.7% |
| Other receipts | 23.47 | 8.15 | 13.49 | 74.0% |
| Total receipts | 4,197.96 | 1,937.72 | 3,883.47 | 8.1% |
| Revenue expenditure | 3,451.61 | 3,122.76 | 3,305.53 | 4.4% |
| Capital expenditure | 1,139.79 | 397.27 | 1,168.29 | (-)2.4% |
| Total expenditure | 4,591.40 | 3,520.03 | 4,473.82 | 2.6% |
| Fiscal deficit | 393.44 | 1,582.31 | 590.35 | (-)33.4% |
| Revenue deficit | (-)689.00 | 1,209.84 | (-)530.33 | -- |
| Apr-Sept | Apr-Sept | Year-on-year change | Budget estimates | % of actuals to Budget estimates | ||
| 2024-25 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2023-24 | |||
| Revenue receipts | 16,223.73 | 13,971.12 | 16.1% | 31,292.00 | 51.8% | 53.1% |
| Net tax revenue | 12,651.59 | 11,603.40 | 9.0% | 25,834.99 | 49.0% | 49.8% |
| Non-tax revenue | 3,572.14 | 2,367.72 | 50.9% | 5,457.01 | 65.5% | 78.5% |
| Recovery of loans | 114.34 | 132.16 | (-)13.5% | 280.00 | 40.8% | 57.5% |
| Other receipts | 31.67 | 69.50 | (-)54.4% | 500.00 | 6.3% | 11.4% |
| Total receipts | 16,369.74 | 14,172.78 | 15.5% | 32,072.00 | 51.0% | 52.2% |
| Revenue expenditure | 16,965.28 | 16,285.11 | 4.2% | 37,094.01 | 45.7% | 46.5% |
| Capital expenditure | 4,149.66 | 4,906.28 | (-)15.4% | 11,111.11 | 37.3% | 49.0% |
| Total expenditure | 21,114.94 | 21,191.39 | (-)0.4% | 48,205.12 | 43.8% | 47.1% |
| Fiscal deficit | 4,745.20 | 7,018.61 | (-)32.4% | 16,133.12 | 29.4% | 39.3% |
| Revenue deficit | 741.55 | 2,313.99 | (-)68.0% | 5,802.01 | 12.8% | 26.6% |
End
Reported by Shubham Rana
Edited by Tanima Banerjee
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