India's Fiscal Deficit Hits 54.5% of Budget Target by December

• The Centre's fiscal deficit reached Rs 8.55 lakh crore by the end of December.
• This figure represents 54.5 per cent of the annual budget target for 2025-26.
• In the previous year, the deficit stood at 56.7 per cent during the same period.
• The government projects the fiscal deficit for 2025-26 to be 4.4 per cent of GDP, or Rs 15.69 lakh crore.
• Total receipts up to December 2025 were Rs 25.25 lakh crore, 72.2 per cent of the budget estimate.

Why It Matters: India's fiscal deficit reached 54.5% of its annual target by December, showing a slight improvement year-on-year.