India’s FY25 fiscal deficit stays within target at 4.8% of GDP

The central government managed to meet its fiscal deficit target of 4.8% of GDP for the financial year 2024–25, according to provisional figures released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) on Friday. . This comes even as total receipts for the year fell slightly short of projections. According to official release,in the revised estimates (RE) presented to Parliament in February, the government had pegged the fiscal deficit—the gap between total expenditure and total receipts—at Rs 15.69 lakh crore, or 4.8% of the gross domestic product (GDP). The CGA data showed that the actual fiscal deficit for FY25 stood at Rs 15.77 lakh crore, amounting to 100.5% of the revised estimate. The government’s ability to adhere closely to the fiscal roadmap was aided by stronger than anticipated nominal GDP growth, which stood at Rs 330.68 lakh crore in FY25.
The Centre’s total receipts amounted to Rs 30.78 lakh crore, or 97.8% of the revised estimates for the year. This included Rs 24.99 lakh crore in tax revenue (net to Centre), Rs5.37 lakh crore in non-tax revenue, and Rs 41,818 crore in non-debt capital receipts. The non-debt capital receipts comprised Rs 24,616 crore from recovery of loans and Rs17,202 crore from miscellaneous sources, according to information.
Total government expenditure during the year came in at Rs46.55 lakh crore, which is 98.7% of the revised estimates. Of this, Rs 36.03 lakh crore was spent on the revenue account, and Rs10.52 lakh crore on capital account, stated official release. Major components of revenue expenditure included Rs11.16 lakh crore for interest payments and Rs3.88 lakh crore for major subsidies. Notably, the Centre transferred Rs12.87 lakh crore to state governments as part of their share in tax revenue, which was Rs1.57 lakh crore higher than in the previous financial year.
ICRA Chief Economist Aditi Nayar stated that the fiscal deficit marginally exceeded the revised estimates for FY2025, largely due to a welcome overshooting in capital expenditure. This, she said, was offset by considerable savings in revenue expenditure, which helped counterbalance the shortfall in receipts. "The upward revision in the FY2025 nominal GDP number also augurs well for meeting the deficit and debt-to-GDP targets for FY2026," she noted.

(Business Correspondent)