In a big shock which the new government is likely to confront, India's fiscal deficit in the first two months of the 2014/15 financial year touched Rs 2.4 lakh crore, or 45.6% of the full-year target of 5.28 lakh crore, much higher than the deficit of 33.3% during the comparable period in the previous fiscal year.
The data released by the Controller and Accounts General further revealed that the total expenditure of the government during April and May was Rs 2.8 lakh crore or 15.9% of the entire year estimates. Of the total expenditure, plan spending was Rs 59,609 crore and non-plan spending stood at Rs 2,20,730 crore. Meanwhile, revenue collection stood at Rs 38,505 crore or 3.3% of the estimate against 3.4% of the estimates in 2013-14. Total receipts (from revenue and non-debt capital) of the government during the two months stood at Rs 39,502 crore. The data said revenue deficit in the two months was Rs 2,05,080 crore or 53.6 percent of the estimates.
With the former Finance Minister P Chidambaram setting the fiscal deficit target for 2014-15 at 4.1% of the GDP, this data implies that new Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, who has a drought and an Iraq oil situation to contend with, will have to get by with just Rs 2,87,794 of deficit leeway for the remaining 10 months of this year. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is scheduled to present the maiden budget of the new government on July 10, spelling out the fiscal policies.
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