Centre’s fiscal deficit at 80.4% of FY26 target by February: CGA data

The Centre’s fiscal deficit stood at Rs 12.52 lakh crore at the end of February, accounting for 80.4 per cent of the full-year target for 2025-26, according to data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) on Monday, PTI reported.This compares with 85.8 per cent of the annual target achieved in the corresponding period last year.The government has pegged the fiscal deficit for 2025-26 at 4.4 per cent of GDP, or Rs 15.58 lakh crore.As per the monthly accounts released by the CGA, the Centre’s total receipts reached Rs 27.91 lakh crore during April-February, or 82 per cent of the budget estimates.This included net tax revenue of Rs 21.45 lakh crore and non-tax revenue of Rs 5.8 lakh crore.Total expenditure during the period stood at Rs 40.44 lakh crore, which is 81.5 per cent of the full-year budget target, the data showed.