On the revenue front, total tax revenue stood at ₹13.9 lakh crore at the end of November 2025, 3.4% lower than in the same period of 2024-25. Non-tax revenue, however, was almost 21% higher during the same period.
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The Centre’s fiscal deficit at the end of the first five months of the current fiscal touched 27% of the full-year target, government data showed on Monday (September 30, 2024).

In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit – the gap between expenditure and revenue – was at ₹4,35,176 crore as of August-end, according to data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA).

The deficit stood at 36% of the Budget Estimates (BE) in the corresponding period of 2023-24.

In the Union Budget, the government projected to bring down the fiscal deficit to 4.9% of the gross domestic product (GDP) in the current 2024-25 financial year. The deficit was 5.6% of the GDP in 2023-24.

In absolute terms, the government aims to contain the fiscal deficit at ₹16,13,312 crore during the current fiscal.

Unveiling the revenue-expenditure data of the Union government for the first five months of 2024-25, CGA said the net tax revenue was ₹8.7 lakh crore or 33.8% of the BE for the current fiscal.

The net tax revenue collection was 34.5% at July-end 2023.

The central government’s total expenditure in the four months through August stood at ₹16.5 lakh crore or 34.3% of BE. The expenditure was 37.1% of the BE in the year-ago period.

Of the total expenditure, ₹13,51,367 crore was in the revenue account and ₹3,00,987 crore was in the capital account.

Out of the total revenue expenditure, ₹4,00,160 crore was towards interest payments.

Fiscal deficit is the difference between the total expenditure and revenue of the government. It is an indication of the total borrowing that is needed by the government.

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The fiscal deficit for the first quarter of the financial year that started in April was ₹1.36 trillion ($16.25 billion), or 8.1% of the estimate for the whole year, government data showed on July 31.

Net tax receipts in April-June were ₹5.5 trillion, or 21% of the annual target, compared with ₹4.34 trillion in the same period last year, according to the data.

Total government expenditure during the period was ₹9.7 trillion, or about 20.4% of the annual goal, lower than the ₹10.51 trillion in the same period last year.

Government spending in the first three months of the current financial year was subdued due to general elections.

For the three months, the government’s capital expenditure or spending on building physical infrastructure was ₹1.81 trillion, or 16.3% of the annual target, against ₹2.78 trillion in the same period a year earlier.

The Indian government last week lowered its fiscal deficit target to 4.9% of GDP for the financial year from 5.1% in the interim budget in February, on the back of a surplus transfer from the central bank and robust tax revenues.

The target was lowered despite higher allocation in the federal budget for job creation and regions run by key allies in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recently formed coalition government.

The country’s budget gap stood at 5.6% of GDP last fiscal year.

India will move away from setting fiscal deficit targets after the financial year 2026 and instead will use the government debt-to-GDP ratio as the anchor for fiscal policy.