NEW DELHI: The Central government’s fiscal deficit at the end of the first two months of FY24 stood at Rs 2.1 lakh crore or 11.8% of the budget target of Rs 17.87 lakh crore. The fiscal deficit narrowed from 12.3% or Rs 2 lakh crore reported in the year-ago period.
Though the net tax revenue of Centre during April-May 2023 contracted 9.6% to Rs 2.78 lakh crore, the overall coffer got a boost due to a 172% increase in non-tax revenues, thanks to `RBI dividend of Rs 87,400 crore. Total expenditure incurred by the government in the first two months of the financial year is Rs 6.25 lakh crore compared with Rs 5.85 lakh crore in the same period last year.
Revenue expenditure saw a marginal decline of 4.3% year-on-year at Rs 4.58 lakh crore. However, capex spending of the government during the period soared by 57% to Rs 1.68 lakh crore. A fiscal deficit is the difference between the total expenditure and revenue of the government.