Budget: 'Govt may cut fiscal deficit target to 5% or less'

The government had pegged fiscal deficit estimate at 5.1% for FY25 when it presented interim Budget in Feb

The government is likely to lower fiscal deficit to 4.9-5 per cent of the GDP for this financial year in the upcoming Budget aided by revenue buoyancy. The government had pegged the fiscal deficit estimate at 5.1 per cent for the current fiscal year when it presented the interim Budget in February.

“The union government is likely to set a fiscal deficit target at 4.9-5 per cent, lower than projected 5.1 per cent of GDP, without compromising the capital expenditure target of Rs 11.1 lakh crore,” ICRA Chief Economist Aditi Nayar said.