Fiscal condition of Govt. still precarious

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JULY 31. The Government's fiscal condition continues to be precarious after the end of the first quarter of the current fiscal with revenue receipts amounting to just 9.3 per cent of the annual target. The corresponding collections during the previous year amounted to nearly 15 per cent.

Total receipts during April-June 2001 were also lower at just 8.8 per cent of the annual target, though receipts during the same period in the last fiscal were 14.1 per cent.

Non-Plan expenditure, on the other hand, was higher in the first quarter at 17.2 per cent against an expenditure of 15.3 per cent during the same period last year while Plan expenditure was lower at 18.6 per cent against 21.2 per cent last year.

The total expenditure, therefore, works out to 17.3 per cent of the annual target whereas it was 16.9 per cent in the comparable period of last year.

Consequently, the fiscal deficit during the first quarter of the current fiscal jumped to 36.3 per cent of the annual target, much higher than the 22.5 per cent of the annual fiscal deficit which was recorded during April-June 2000.

The revenue deficit was also higher at 41.1 per cent this year whereas it was 21.2 per cent in the same months of last year. The primary deficit was at a high of 614.9 per cent of the annual target, against 108.2 per cent recorded in the same months of last fiscal year.

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Section  : National
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