Fiscal deficit touches 92.4 per cent of BE at July-end

The Centre’s fiscal deficit in April-July soared to 92 per cent of Rs 5.46 lakh crore estimated for the whole of 2017-18, largely due to a rise in explicit subsidies. The fiscal deficit in the first four months of 2016-17 was nearly 74 per cent of the annual estimate.

In April-July this year, the Centre released about Rs 1.5 lakh crore in food, fertiliser and fuel subsidies, a rise of 42 per cent YoY. The front-loading of the subsidies, especially in food and fuel, was aimed at easing the liquidity problems for the intermediaries and fuel retailers. The April-July period of this year also saw a 33 per cent YoY rise in capex at Rs 95,126 crore, nearly 40 per cent of which was defence-related.