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Revenue deficit in Q1 higher by 6.5%: RBI

The revenue deficit of the central government at Rs 34,543 crore (Rs 345.43 billion), during April-June 2002-03, was higher by 6.5 per cent compared to the same period in the previous fiscal and constituted 36.2 per cent of the budget estimates, according to Reserve Bank of India.

During the first quarter of FY02-03, the Centre's gross fiscal deficit amounting to Rs 39,560 crore (Rs 395.60 billion) was lower by 6.3 per cent over April-June of 2001-02 and constituted 29.2 per cent of the budget estimates, RBI said in its annual report for 2001-02 released in Mumbai on Friday.

The gross primary deficit at Rs 15,671 crore (Rs 156.71 billion) was lower by 36.5 per cent over the same period of previous year, it added.

During 2002-03, the net market borrowings would finance 70.7 per cent of GFD, marginally higher than 69.4 per cent in the revised estimates for 2001-02, it noted.

The net market borrowings were budgeted at Rs 95,859 crore (Rs 958.59 billion), compared to Rs 91,480 crore (Rs 914.80 billion) in revised estimates for FY-02. At the same time, financing through other liabilities would increase to 28.7 per cent from 26.1 per cent and external assistance would contribute 0.6 per cent as against 1.6 per cent in the previous year, the report said.

RBI said revenue receipts in Q1 of current fiscal at Rs 29,864 crore (Rs 298.64 billion) were higher by 38.1 per cent. The net tax revenue stood at Rs 24,154 crore (Rs 241.54 billion) as against Rs 16,835 crore (Rs 168.35 billion) during April-June FY-02.

Non-tax revenue at Rs 5,713 crore (Rs 57.13 billion) registered an increase of 19.3 per cent while aggregate expenditure at Rs 75,715 crore (Rs 757.15 billion) was higher by 16.3 per cent, it added.

Referring to State budgets, RBI said several of them have proposed measures to intensify fiscal consolidation process by widening the resource base and containing expenditure.

Accordingly, the GFD of states was budgeted to decline to 3.8 per cent of gross domestic product in 2002-03 from 4.5 per cent in the revised estimates for FY-02.

The revenue deficit was also budgeted lower at 1.8 per cent of GDP in FY-03 than 2.6 per cent in the previous fiscal.

The apex bank said revenue receipts of states were budgeted to rise by 13.2 per cent with about 70 per cent of this increase to be contributed by states' own revenue receipts comprising tax and non-tax receipts, while current transfers from the Centre comprising shareable taxes and grants would account for the rest.

Total tax receipts comprising states' own taxes and their share in Central taxes were estimated to show a higher growth of 13.8 per cent during FY-03 (11.1 per cent last fiscal).

The tax-GDP ratio of the states, which remained stagnant at around eight per cent during the 1990s, was budgeted to increase to 8.3 per cent during 2002-03 (8.1 per cent).

RBI said on the non-tax front, states' own non-tax revenues receipts were estimated to show a rise of 19.1 per cent in 2002-03 as against a marginal rise of 0.5 per cent in FY-02. The grants from the Centre were budgeted to increase by 7.2 per cent.

Thus, states' own revenue receipts were expected to finance 54 per cent of revenue expenditure and 44.7 per cent of the aggregate expenditure in FY-03, it added.

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RBI Annual Report 2001-02
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