New Delhi, Dec 20 (IANS): The central government has realized Rs 26,644 crore as dividend receipts from the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) so far (as on December 4) during the current financial year, the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday.

Dividend payouts by CPSEs have been increasing over the last three years and have exceeded the revised budget estimates in 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23, it added.

Rising dividend payments by CPSEs such as ONGC, OIL India, NTPC and Coal India, help to bolster government revenues and curtail the fiscal deficit.

The central government is confident of achieving its fiscal deficit target of 5.9 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the fiscal year 2023-24, the finance ministry informed Parliament on Monday.

The fiscal deficit in the first seven months of the current fiscal year ending on March 31, 2024, was Rs 8.04 lakh crore, or 45 per cent of the estimate for the whole year, according to official figures.