Has the fiscal deficit reached 83% of FY21 target in Q1 itself? Not really

Has the Union government’s fiscal deficit in the April-June quarter of 2020 indeed exceeded over 83 per cent of the Budget Estimate (BE) for the full financial year of 2020-21? No, this is not really what has happened. The figures put out by the Controller General of Accounts on Friday have compared the deficit figures for April-June 2020 with the BE figures for the full year of 2020-21 given in the Budget presented last February.

This does place the first quarter’s deficit at as high a level as 83 per cent of the full year’s deficit target. And this is …