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Informist, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026

 

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--Govt Apr-Dec fiscal deficit 54.5% of FY26 Budget target of INR 15.689 tln 
--Govt Apr-Dec fiscal deficit INR 8.558 tln vs INR 9.141 tln year ago 
--Govt Apr-Dec total expenditure INR 33.810 tln vs INR 32.321 tln year ago 
--Govt Apr-Dec capital expenditure INR 7.879 tln vs INR 6.853 tln year ago 
--Govt Apr-Dec total receipts INR 25.252 tln vs INR 23.180 tln year ago 
--Govt Apr-Dec non-tax revenue INR 5.399 tln vs INR 4.477 tln year ago 
--Govt Apr-Dec gross tax revenue INR 29.843 tln vs INR 27.504 tln year ago 
--Govt: Apr-Dec state tax devolution INR 10.382 tln vs INR 9.012 tln year ago 
--Govt Dec fiscal surplus INR 1.208 tln vs INR 675 bln deficit year ago 
--Govt Dec total expenditure INR 4.551 tln vs INR 4.911 tln year ago 
--Govt Dec capital expenditure INR 1.297 tln vs INR 1.718 bln year ago 
--Govt Dec total receipts INR 5.759 tln vs INR 4.236 tln year ago 
--Govt Dec non-tax revenue INR 235 bln vs INR 206 bln year ago 
--Govt Dec gross tax revenue INR 6.478 tln vs INR 4.895 tln year ago 

 

NEW DELHI – The Indian government's fiscal deficit fell 6.4% on year to INR 8.558 trillion in the first nine months of the current financial year to December, data released by the Controller General of Accounts on Friday showed. The fiscal deficit during Apr-Dec was 54.5% of the Budget estimate of INR 15.689 trillion for 2025-26 (Apr-Mar), lower than 56.7% in the same period last year.

 

The government has set a fiscal deficit target of 4.4% of GDP for FY26, down from 4.8% of GDP in FY25. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to set a fiscal deficit target of 4.2% for FY27 in the Union Budget, to be presented on Sunday.

 

In December, the government saw a fiscal surplus of INR 1.208 trillion, against a deficit of INR 675 billion a year ago. This was because of higher gross tax revenue and lower expenditure during the month. 

 

At INR 1.208 trillion, the fiscal surplus in December was the highest since May, when the government's non-tax revenue had jumped because of the Reserve Bank of India's record-high surplus transfer of INR 2.69 trillion.

 

In December, total receipts increased 36% on year to INR 5.759 trillion, led by a 37% jump in net tax revenue. Within tax revenue, corporate tax collection rose 23% on year to INR 2.813 trillion. Integrated goods and services tax collection rose to INR 762 billion from a negative balance of INR 37 billion in December last year. 

 

For the nine months to December, total receipts were up 8.9% at INR 25.25 trillion, with net tax revenue rising 5.2% to INR 19.39 trillion. "We anticipate a sizeable shortfall in the GoI's (government of India's) gross tax revenues in the current fiscal relative to the FY2026 BE (Budget estimate)," Aditi Nayar, chief economist at rating agency ICRA, said in a note. 

 

Total expenditure was down 7.3% in December at INR 4.55 trillion because of lower capital expenditure. The government's capital expenditure fell 25% on year to INR 1.30 trillion. 

 

For Apr-Dec, the government's total expenditure rose 4.6% on year to INR 33.810 trillion, while capital expenditure was up 15% on year at INR 7.879 trillion in the first nine months of FY26. The government has met 70.3% of its capital expenditure target of INR 11.21 trillion for FY26. 

 

"Overall, we expect the potential miss on the taxes side to be offset by higher-than-budgeted non-tax revenues and sizeable expenditure savings on the revenue spending front," Nayar said. "As a result, we do not anticipate the FY2026 RE to indicate a higher fiscal deficit than the FY2026 BE."

 

The Controller General of Accounts detailed the government's accounts for December and Apr-Dec as follows (in INR billion):

 

	December 2025	November 2025	December 2024	Year-on-year change in %
Revenue receipts	5,687.97	1,469.32	4,202.55	35.3
Net tax revenue	5,453.08	1,196.45	3,996.18	36.5
Non-tax revenue	234.89	272.87	206.37	13.8
Other receipts	41.04	0.14	0.13	31,469.2
Total receipts	5,759.17	1,487.64	4,235.97	36.0
Interest payments	1,652.94	720.5	1,498.19	10.3
Revenue expenditure	3,253.63	2,598.24	3,192.55	1.9
Capital expenditure	1,297.25	404.67	1,718.37	(-)24.5
Total expenditure	4,550.88	3,002.91	4,910.92	(-)7.3
Fiscal deficit	(-)1,208.29	1,515.27	674.95	--
Revenue deficit	(-)2,434.34	1,128.92	(-)1,010.00	--
Primary deficit	(-)2,861.23	794.77	(-)823.24	--

 

	Apr-Dec FY26	Apr-Dec FY25	Year-on-year % change	Budget estimates	% of actuals to Budget estimates
Revenue receipts	24,791.09	22,907.10	8.2	34,204.09	72.5	73.2
Net tax revenue	19,392.54	18,430.53	5.2	28,374.09	68.3	71.3
Non-tax revenue	5,398.55	4,476.57	20.6	5,830.00	92.6	82.0
Other receipts	278.21	89.94	209.3	470	59.2	18.0
Total receipts	25,251.56	23,180.05	8.9	34,964.09	72.2	72.3
Interest payments	9,110.59	8,083.13	12.7	12,763.38	71.4	69.5
Revenue expenditure	25,930.63	25,467.57	1.8	39,442.55	65.7	68.7
Capital expenditure	7,879.35	6,853.37	15.0	11,210.90	70.3	61.7
Total expenditure	33,809.98	32,320.94	4.6	50,653.45	66.7	67.0
Fiscal deficit	8,558.42	9,140.89	(-)6.4	15,689.36	54.5	56.7
Revenue deficit	1,139.54	2,560.47	(-)55.5	5,238.46	21.8	44.1
Primary deficit	(-)552.17	1,057.76	--	2,925.98	(-)18.9	23.5

 

Source: Controller General of Accounts

 

End

 

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Reported by Shubham Rana

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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