The government's fiscal deficit as of end-December touched 59.8 per cent of the full-year Budget Estimate on subdued growth in revenue collections, according to finance ministry data released on Tuesday.

In actual terms, the fiscal deficit -- which is the difference between expenditure and revenue -- was Rs 9,92,976 crore during the April-December period of 2022-23. In the corresponding period last year, the deficit was 50.4 per cent of the Budget Estimates (BE) of 2021-22.

The government has budgeted fiscal deficit at Rs 16.61 lakh crore or 6.4 per cent of the GDP in the current financial year ending March 2023. The deficit is funded by market borrowing.

As per the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) data, the net tax revenue at Rs 15.55 lakh crore was 80.4 per cent of BE 2022-23. During the corresponding period of 2021-22, the net tax revenue was 95.4 per cent of that year's BE.

Non-tax revenue was at Rs 2.14 lakh crore or 79.5 per cent of BE. In the last fiscal, the collection by December was 106.7 per cent of BE.

The central government's total expenditure during April-December works out to be 71.4 per cent of BE of 2022-23, lower than 72.4 per cent of BE in the year-ago period.

Capital expenditure stood at Rs 4.89 lakh crore or 65.4 per cent of BE at end-December. The capex was 70.7 per cent of BE during the corresponding period last fiscal.

As per the CGA data, the central government's total receipts, including non-tax revenue, stood at Rs 18.25 lakh crore or 79.9 per cent of the current year's BE. In the year-ago period, the total receipts had touched 89.1 per cent of BE 2021-22.

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