NEW DELHI, Dec 31 (Reuters): India risks missing its budget deficit target for the current fiscal year, data showed. Economists said the government had already started to cut capital spending in an attempt to narrow the gap.
The data showed the fiscal deficit in the April-November period stood at Rs 7.17 trillion rupees ($101.93 billion), or 114.8 per cent of the budgeted target for the fiscal year that ends in March.
It is the second consecutive month that the deficit has come in above 100 per cent of the budgeted target. In the April-October period India reported a fiscal deficit of Rs 6.49 trillion, or 103.9 per cent of the budgeted full-year target.
The government has set a fiscal deficit target of 3.3 per cent of gross domestic product for the current fiscal year.
Net tax receipts in the April-November period were Rs 7.32 trillion, against a full-year target of Rs 14.81 trillion, while total spending stood at Rs 16.13 trillion, against the full-year target of Rs 24.42 trillion.
"There are several risks to meeting the budgeted targets for revenues and expenditures, with one of the predominant concerns arising from a possible shortfall in indirect tax collections," said Aditi Nayar, principal economist at ratings agency ICRA.
India risks missing budget gap target
FE Team | Published: December 31, 2018 23:35:14
India risks missing budget gap target
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