New Delhi, October 30 — India's fiscal deficit for the first half of the financial year, April to September, stood at Rs 7.15 lakh crore (Rs 7.15 trillion), equal to 42.1 per cent of the target set for the full year ending March 2027, government data released on Friday showed, Reuters reported.

Source: Reuters

The gap between the Centre's spending and its income was wider than a year earlier in absolute terms: the deficit in the same April–September period last year stood at Rs 5.7 lakh crore. Net tax receipts in the first half rose to Rs 12.8 lakh crore, from Rs 12.3 lakh crore a year ago, while non-tax revenue edged up to Rs 4.8 lakh crore from Rs 4.7 lakh crore.

Source: Reuters

Rs 7.15 lakh croreFiscal deficit, April–September
42.1%Share of full-year target used in first half
Rs 12.8 lakh croreNet tax receipts, up from Rs 12.3 lakh crore
Rs 6.5 lakh croreCapital expenditure, up from Rs 5.8 lakh crore

Total government expenditure in the six months reached Rs 25.5 lakh crore, against Rs 23 lakh crore in the same period last year. Capital expenditure — spending on building physical infrastructure — rose to Rs 6.5 lakh crore from Rs 5.8 lakh crore, an increase of nearly 12 per cent on an annual basis, The World Opinion reported from the same data release.

Source: The World Opinion

For the full financial year 2026-27, the government has set a fiscal deficit target of Rs 16.96 lakh crore, which is 4.3 per cent of GDP. Friday's first-half print of 42.1 per cent is only slightly ahead of where the deficit stood a month earlier: at the end of August it was Rs 7,10,249 crore, or 41.9 per cent of the full-year target, according to Controller General of Accounts data reported by The Hindu BusinessLine — a pattern officials attribute to the uneven timing of tax receipts and spending through the year.

Source: The Hindu BusinessLine

Yaani — in plain words

The fiscal deficit is the money the government must borrow in a year because it spends more than it earns. By September, the Centre had already used up about 42 paise of every Rs 1 it plans to borrow this year — roughly in line with last month's pace, with the heavier tax-collection months still ahead.

The monthly figures are compiled by the Controller General of Accounts and are provisional. Whether the full-year target of 4.3 per cent of GDP is met will depend on tax collections and spending in the second half of the year, when most direct-tax and GST inflows are concentrated.