The Centre’s fiscal deficit stood at 38.1 per cent of the full-year target at the end of August, according to data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) on Tuesday.

The fiscal deficit was 27 per cent of the Budget Estimates (BE) of 2024-25 in the first five months of the previous financial year.

In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit, or gap between the government’s expenditure and revenue, was Rs 5,98,153 crore in the April-August period of 2025-26.

Government receipts

The Centre estimates the fiscal deficit during 2025-26 at 4.4 per cent of the GDP, or Rs 15.69 lakh crore.

The CGA data showed that the government received Rs 12.82 lakh crore (36.7 per cent of the corresponding BE 2025-26 of total receipts) up to August 2025.

This comprised Rs 8.1 lakh crore tax reven

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