New Delhi, March 30 (IANS) The Central government’s fiscal deficit touched 80.4 per cent of the budgeted target by the end of the first 11 months from April to February of the financial year 2025-2026, reflecting a strong fiscal position, according to figures released by the Comptroller General of Accounts on Monday.

The gap between the government’s expenditure and revenue stood at Rs 12.53 lakh crore from April to February, against the full-year target of Rs 15.58 lakh crore. In the same period of the previous year, the fiscal deficit was Rs 13.46 lakh crore, which constituted 85.8 per cent of the full year’s target.

Net tax collections remain robust, with the cumulative mop-up reaching nearly Rs 21.45 lakh crore, or 80.2 per cent of the yearly target. Till January, the tax collection had reached only 78.3 per cent of the target. In the year-ago period, net tax collections stood at 79.6 per cent of the FY25 target.

The government’s capital expenditure on big-ticket infrastructure projects in the highways, ports and railway segments continued to surge, reaching Rs 9.29 lakh crore or 84.8 per cent of the FY26 target. Till the preceding month, capex stood at Rs 8.42 lakh crore or 76.9 per cent of the annual target.

The Centre’s revenue deficit in the April-February period widened to 3.89 lakh crore from Rs 1.96 lakh crore till January, reaching 73.8 per cent of the annual target. However, it clocked a sharp decline from the year-ago period, when it had already reached 87.1 per cent of the FY25 target.

The total expenditure during the first 11 months of this fiscal stood at Rs 40.44 lakh crore, which is 81.5 per cent of the FY26 estimated target, lower than 82.5 per cent it had reached in the year-ago period.

The government’s total receipts for April-February stood at Rs 27.91 lakh crore, which is 82 per cent of the full-year target. In the comparable year-ago period, the mop-up stood lower at 80.9 per cent.

Revenue receipts, which are led by tax collections, reached 81.6 per cent of the annual target in the first 11 months as they stood at Rs 27.26 lakh crore.

Notably, the non-tax collection revenue narrowed to 87 per cent of its annual target, of which the collection of dividends and profits reached 96 per cent of the annual target.

Collection of dividends and profits by the end of January remained stagnant at Rs 3.6 lakh crore.

–IANS

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