New Delhi, June 30 - India posted a fiscal deficit of 1.62 trillion rupees in the April-May period, equivalent to 9.6% of the government's full-year estimate for the financial year ending March 31, official data showed on Tuesday. That full-year fiscal deficit target for 2026/27 is set at 4.3% of GDP, or 16.96 trillion rupees.
The shortfall for April-May this year contrasts with a notably smaller deficit of 131.6 billion rupees in the same two-month period a year earlier.
On the revenue side, net tax receipts during April-May stood at 3.5 trillion rupees, unchanged from the corresponding period a year ago. Non-tax receipts were recorded at 3.5 trillion rupees, down slightly from 3.6 trillion rupees a year earlier.
Government spending increased in the opening two months of the financial year. Total expenditure rose to 8.8 trillion rupees versus 7.5 trillion rupees in the same period last year. Capital expenditure - defined in the release as spending on building physical infrastructure - came in at 2.5 trillion rupees, up from 2.2 trillion rupees a year earlier.
The data release also included an exchange rate reference of $1 = 94.6600 Indian rupees.
Context and implications within the reported figures
The numbers reported provide a snapshot of the government's fiscal position in the first two months of the financial year. Revenues from net taxes remained flat relative to the prior year period, while non-tax receipts showed a small decline. On the expenditure side, both overall outlays and capital spending increased year-on-year in April-May.
These elements together produced the 1.62 trillion rupee deficit figure, which represents 9.6% of the 16.96 trillion rupee full-year fiscal deficit target set by the government for 2026/27.