The central government’s fiscal deficit touched 17.9% of the full-year target at the end of June 2025, more than double the 8.4% recorded in the same period last year, data from the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) showed on Thursday.In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit — the gap between revenue and expenditure — stood at Rs 2.8 lakh crore for the April–June period of FY26. The Centre has pegged the fiscal deficit for the full year at 4.4% of GDP, or Rs 15.69 lakh crore, PTI reported.As of June, the government had received Rs 9.41 lakh crore, or 26.9% of Budget Estimates (BE) for 2025-26. This included net tax revenue of Rs 5.4 lakh crore, non-tax revenue of Rs 3.73 lakh crore, and non-debt capital receipts of Rs 28,018 crore.Transfers to state governments surged to Rs 3.27 lakh crore, up Rs 47,439 crore from a year earlier, as devolution of tax shares accelerated.Total government expenditure in the first quarter came in at Rs 12.22 lakh crore, or 24.1% of BE, with Rs 9.47 lakh crore spent on the revenue account and Rs 2.75 lakh crore on the capital account. Within revenue spending, Rs 3.86 lakh crore went toward interest payments and Rs 83,554 crore toward major subsidies.Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist at ICRA, noted that tepid direct tax collections in June weighed on gross tax revenue performance, though the weakness was largely due to an adverse base effect. “Devolution to states maintained a robust pace,” she added, quoted PTI.Nayar also highlighted that while the Centre’s capital expenditure rose 52% year-on-year, this was on a low base and was still 1% lower than Q1 FY24 levels. However, the sharp rise in Q1 capex is expected to have supported investment activity, offering a positive signal for GDP growth in the quarter, she said.