New Delhi: The Finance Minister seems to have achieved the impossible.
India's fiscal deficit for the first eight months of 2006 has dropped in both percentage and aggregate terms.
Against budgetary targets, the Centre's fiscal deficit so far in 2006-07 is slightly less compared to 74.7 per cent in the corresponding period last year, while revenue deficit was much larger compared to 91.5 per cent a year ago.
Deficit stands at Rs 1.08 lakh crore from April to November against Rs 1.12 lakh crore for the same period last year. The budget estimate for this fiscal is Rs 1,48,686 crore, according to the data released by the Controller General of Accounts on Friday.
Revenues have grown faster than expenditure. They rose to Rs 2.28 lakh crore against Rs 1.8 lakh crore last year.
Buoyancy in revenue collections notwithstanding, the country's fiscal deficit during April-November 2006 touched 72.8 per cent of the total budget target for the entire financial year.
Revenue deficit was more pronounced at Rs 84,483 crore in the first eight months of this financial year, accounting for almost the entire of the budget target of Rs 84,727 crore.
Expenditure was Rs 3.36 lakh crore vs Rs 2.93 lakh crore.
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