The Central government's fiscal deficit for 2026-27 stood at 26.8 per cent of the full-year target at the end of July, according to data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) on Monday.
The deficit was at 29.9 per cent of Budget Estimates (BE) of 2025-26 for the first four months of the previous financial year.
In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit, or gap between the government's expenditure and revenue, was Rs 4,55,144 crore in the April-July period of the 2026-27 fiscal year.
The Centre has set a fiscal deficit target of 4.3 per cent of the GDP or Rs 16.96 lakh crore for the current fiscal.
According to the CGA, the Centre's net tax revenue was about Rs 8.45 lakh crore, or 29.5 per cent of the corresponding BE of 2026-27 of total receipts, up to July 2026.
In the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year, the net tax revenue was at 23.3 per cent of that year's BE.
The data on monthly accounts showed that the total expenditure during the first four months was at about Rs 17.62 lakh crore, or 32.9 per cent of BE. In the year-ago period, it was at 30.9 per cent of BE.
The Centre transferred Rs 3,72,354 crore to state governments as devolution of share of taxes during the period, which is Rs 56,190 crore lower than the previous year.