The Centre’s fiscal deficit reached 36.5 per cent of the full-year target at the end of the first half of FY26, data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) on Friday showed.During the same period last year, the fiscal deficit had stood lower at 29 per cent of the Budget Estimates (BE) for 2024–25, PTI reported.In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit — the gap between the government’s total expenditure and total receipts–amounted to Rs 5,73,123 crore during April–September 2025.For FY26, the government has pegged the fiscal deficit at 4.4 per cent of GDP, or Rs 15.69 lakh crore.According to the CGA, total receipts during the first six months stood at Rs 16.95 lakh crore, representing 49.6 per cent of the full-year BE for 2025–26.This included Rs 12.29 lakh crore from tax revenue (net to Centre), Rs 4.6 lakh crore from non-tax revenue, and Rs 34,770 crore from non-debt capital receipts.
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