On March 28, India's fiscal deficit for the period ending February 2025 reached 85.8% of the full-year target. The figures were released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) on Friday.

According to official data, from April 2024 to February 2025, the fiscal deficit stood at ₹13,46,852 crore. The fiscal deficit refers to the gap between government expenditure and revenue.

In comparison, during the same period last year, the fiscal deficit was 86.5% of the revised estimate (RE) for FY 2023-24.

Government Revenue and Expenditure

The data revealed that the government's net tax revenue was ₹20 lakh crore, or 78.8% of the revised estimate for FY 2024-25. During the same period of the previous year, it was 79.6%.

Regarding revenue-expenditure figures, total expenditure for the first 11 months of the current fiscal year stood at ₹38.93 lakh crore, or 82.5% of the revised estimate. A year earlier, this figure was 83.4%.

Fiscal Deficit and GDP Projections

The Union Budget projected a fiscal deficit of 4.8% of GDP for FY 2024-25, with a reduction to 4.4% in FY 2025-26. Based on current prices, the fiscal deficit for FY 2024-25 is estimated to be ₹15.69 lakh crore.

Interest Payments and Subsidy

Out of the total revenue expenditure, ₹9.52 lakh crore was spent on interest payments and ₹3.63 lakh crore on major subsidies.

Transfers to States

The CGA also reported that by February 2025, the government transferred ₹11.80 lakh crore in taxes to state governments, an increase of ₹1.47 lakh crore compared to the previous year.