According to data, the Center's budget deficit is close to its full-year projection

According to figures from the finance ministry issued on Tuesday, the government's budget deficit as of the end of December reached 59.8% of the full-year Budget Estimate. This was owing to a slow rise in tax collections.

The fiscal deficit, which is the gap between expenditures and revenues, was Rs 9,92,976 crore in real dollars from April through December year 2022–23. When compared to the same time last year, the shortfall was 50.4% of the BE for 2021–22.

The fiscal deficit for the current fiscal year, which ends in March 2023, has been planned by the government at Rs. 16.61 lakh crore, or 6.4% of GDP. Market borrowing is used to cover the shortfall.

The net tax income at Rs 15.55 lakh crore, according to statistics from the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), was 80.4% of BE 2022–23. The net tax revenue during the equivalent period of 2021–22 was 95,4% of the BE for that year.

Revenue from sources other than taxes were Rs 2.14 lakh crore, or 79.5% of BE. The collection by December of the previous fiscal year was 106.7% of BE.

The entire spending for the central government from April to December comes to 71.4% of BE for 2022–23, which is less than the 71.4% of BE for the same time last year.

At the end of December, capital expenditures were Rs 4.89 lakh crore, or 65.4% of BE. In the same time of the prior fiscal year, capex was 70.7% of BE.

According to CGA statistics, the overall collections for the central government, including non-tax income, were Rs 18.25 lakh crore, or 79.9% of the BE for the current year. The overall revenues from the previous quarter reached 89.1% of BE 2021–22.