New Delhi, Apr 1 (IANS): India's April-February budgetary fiscal deficit reached 82.7 per cent of FY22's revised target.

As per the data furnished by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), the fiscal deficit -- the difference between revenue and expenditure -- for the April-February 2021-22 period stood at Rs 13,16,595 crore (Rs 13.16 lakh crore), or 82.7 per cent of the revised estimates (RE).

The FY22 deficit has been pegged at Rs 1,591,089 crore (Rs 15.91 lakh crore).

The CGA data showed that the Central government's total expenditure stood at Rs 31,43,875 crore (Rs 31.43 lakh crore) (83.4 per cent of RE) while total receipts were Rs 18,27,280 crore (Rs 18.27 lakh crore) (83.9 per cent of RE).

"With a sharp 30.7 per cent YoY growth in revenue receipts, moderate 10.2 per cent rise in revenue expenditure, and 19.7 per cent expansion in capital expenditure, the Government of India recorded a fiscal deficit of Rs 13.2 trillion (82.7 per cent of RE) in April-February FY2022, modestly lower than the Rs 14.1 trillion (77.3 per cent of actuals) in the same period of the previous year," said Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist, ICRA.

"However, the release of a massive Rs. 2.4 trillion as central tax devolution to the states in the month of February 2022, by far the largest monthly release, contributed to a widening in the GoI's fiscal deficit between January 2022 and February 2022, and precipitated the decline in the GoI's cash balance."