Will stick to 5.8% fiscal deficit pegged in RE for FY23: Official

New Delhi: The government expects the fiscal deficit to be within the revised estimates of 5.8 per cent of GDP in the current fiscal ending March, an official said on Friday.

The revised estimates (RE) had pegged the fiscal deficit at Rs 17.35 lakh crore or 5.8 per cent of GDP in the current fiscal.

"We hope to stick to 5.8 per cent fiscal deficit in the current fiscal. I don't think that GDP numbers released on Thursday will lead to any change in the deficit target," an official said.

The data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Thursday showed that India's economy will grow 7.6 per cent in the current fiscal, higher than 7.3 per cent pegged earlier.

India's nominal GDP is expected to grow 9.1 per cent in 2023-24, as per the second advance estimate for GDP released on Thursday. The nominal GDP was assumed to be 8.9 per cent at the time of budget making.

Although the nominal GDP is projected to grow faster than the earlier projection, it will be lower in absolute terms because of revisions in earlier years.

In absolute terms, the nominal GDP is seen at Rs 293.89 lakh crore compared with the revised projection of Rs 296.57 lakh crore in 2022-23.

According to experts, lower nominal GDP in absolute terms in the current financial year ending March could marginally push up the government's fiscal deficit as a ratio of GDP to 5.9 per cent from the revised estimate of 5.8 per cent in the Budget for 2024-25 (Apr-Mar).

The data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) showed the fiscal deficit touched Rs 11 lakh crore at the end of January, which is 63.6 per cent of the revised full year target.