India's April-December fiscal deficit at Rs 8.55 lakh crore, narrows on-year to 54.5% of FY26 aim

India's fiscal deficit for the first nine months of this fiscal year through December stood at Rs 8.55 lakh crore rupees, or 54.5% of annual estimates, government data showed today.

The fiscal deficit narrowed from 56.7% reported in the comparable year-earlier period.

Total receipts stood at Rs 25.25 lakh crore rupees, while overall expenditure in April to December was at Rs 33.80 lakh crore rupees. They were 72.2% and 66.7% of this fiscal year's budget target.


Total receipts in the year-earlier period was at 72.3% of estimate, while expenditure narrowed from 67.0% a year earlier.


Revenue receipts stood at Rs 24.79 lakh crore rupees, of which tax revenue was Rs 19.39 lakh crore rupees and non-tax revenue was Rs 5.39 lakh crore rupees.

Tax and non-tax revenues were 68.3% and 92.6% of the budgeted estimate. While tax revenue was narrower than 71.3% of budget estimate in the last fiscal year, non-tax revenue swelled from 82.0% of budget forecast in the same period last year.

Non-tax revenue jumped as the Reserve Bank of India approved a dividend of Rs 2.69 lakh crore to the central government, up from Rs 2.11 lakh crore transferred last year. This will help the central government reduce its fiscal deficit.

Revenue deficit was at Rs 1.13 lakh crore rupees or 21.8% of the fiscal year's budget target, data showed.

While announcing the federal budget for this fiscal year that started April 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman set the fiscal deficit target for 2025-26 at 4.4%, in line with the Indian government’s commitment to narrow the budget gap to below 4.5% by fiscal 2026. India’s fiscal deficit for FY25 stood at 4.8% of GDP, meeting the revised estimate.

The lower fiscal deficit target for 2025-26 was expected on hopes of strong tax collections, despite the government’s continued capex push that is crucial to shore up consumption and create jobs and help India achieve its aim to be world’s third largest economy by 2030.

On the expenditure side, New Delhi spent about Rs 3.17 lakh crore rupees on major subsidies such as food, fertilisers and petroleum. This was 83% of the revised annual aim, tad wider than 81% of budgeted expenditure in the comparable period last year.