Fiscal deficit until February eases to 80.4% of FY26 target

New Delhi: The Centre's fiscal deficit in the first 11 months of current financial year touched 80.4% of the annual target, compared with 85.8% a year ago, as net tax revenue improved in recent months while revenue spending growth remained subdued, official data released on Monday showed.

In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit between April 2025 and February 2026 stood at ₹12.53 lakh crore against ₹13.47 lakh crore a year ago. The government has pegged the 2025-26 fiscal deficit at ₹15.58 lakh crore.

The moderation, said experts, will enable the government to rein in its fiscal deficit target in absolute terms.


"Despite slower nominal GDP growth, the fiscal deficit has been contained due to muted revenue expenditure growth this financial year (even as capital expenditure increased more than 14%)," said India Ratings chief economist DK Pant. "The quality of the deficit is expected to improve."

The data showed that the net tax revenue until February increased 6% year-on-year to ₹21.45 lakh crore.

Non-tax revenue increased 17.8% till February to ₹5.81 lakh crore, while total receipts went up 9.6% to ₹27.92 lakh crore.

Meanwhile, the government has kept a lid on its revenue expenditure, which inched up just 1% till February to ₹31.15 lakh crore.