The country’s financial or fiscal deficit was Rs 13,163 crore during the first two months of April 2025-26 during April-May. This figure is only 0.8 percent of the budget target of Rs 15.69 lakh crore for the entire financial year 2025-26. A year ago, the financial deficit was Rs 50,600 crore in the same period. The financial deficit figures have been released by the Control General of Accounts (CGA). There is a difference between financial deficit, government expenses and revenue. Surplus conditions occur when expenses are more than revenue and revenue, more than revenue.
The main reason for the lack of financial deficit during April-May is good money in the treasury of the government from the Reserve Bank of India and good growth in non-tax revenue. The government has received a dividend from RBI for FY 2024-25 for a bumper amount of Rs 2.69 lakh crore.
Talking about the month of May alone, the Government of India recorded a large fiscal surplus in May 2025 thanks to the RBI bumper dividend. This reduced the fiscal deficit to only Rs 13,163 crore or 0.8 percent of the budget estimate of FY 2026 for April-May 2025. Finance was 3.1 percent of the budget estimate in the first two months of 2024-25.
RBI gave a dividend of 2.11 lakh crores for FY24
The government had expected a dividend of Rs 2.56 lakh crore from RBI and public sector financial institutions. But even more than this, RBI gave a strong dividend. Earlier, RBI gave a dividend of Rs 2.11 lakh crore to the government for FY 2023-24. The dividend given for FY 2025 is 27 percent more than a year ago. Economists argue that the government’s target will be taken down by 4.4 percent to 20-30 basis points to more dividend financial deficit than expected.
How much revenue and how much spend in April-May
During April-May 2025, net tax revenue was recorded at Rs 3.5 lakh crore or 12.4 percent of the budget estimate. This budget was 12.3 percent of the budget estimate in the same period last year. By the end of May, the total expenditure of the government was Rs 7.46 lakh crore or 14.7 percent of the budget estimate of the current financial year. It was 12.9 percent a year ago in the same period. According to data released on June 30, the government’s capital expenditure in May was 39 percent higher than the previous year.
In April-May 2025, India used 19.4 percent of the target set for capital expenditure. The target had spent 12.7 percent during April-May 2024. For the current financial year 2025-26, the government estimates that the financial deficit will be 4.4 percent of the GDP (GDP) or Rs 15.69 lakh crore. The fiscal deficit of the central government during the financial year 2024-25 was 4.8 percent of GDP.