Context: According to the data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), the union government’s fiscal deficit has worked out to be 35% of budget estimates at the end of September.

Key highlights of the data

• The deficit figures in the current fiscal appear better than the previous financial year when it had soared to 114.8% of the estimates.
• For the current fiscal, the government expects deficit at 6.8% of GDP.
• The Centre’s total receipts stood at 55.6% of corresponding budget estimates (BE) FY22 up to September. Total receipts were 25.2% of the BE a year earlier.
• Of the total receipts, tax revenue was ?9.2 lakh crore or 59.6% of BE, compared with 28% a year earlier.

Fiscal deficit

• Fiscal deficit is the condition when the expenditure of the government exceeds its revenue in a year.
• The fiscal deficit of a country is calculated as a percentage of its GDP OR as the total money spent by the government in excess of its income.
• Fiscal deficit is calculated both in absolute terms and as a percentage of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

In either case, the income figure

• Includes only taxes and other revenues
• Excludes money borrowed to make up the shortfall.