Centre's fiscal deficit at 5.2% of GDP in Q1; experts say it may widen

Expect capex to pick up in the second half of the year and inch closer to 6.4% Budget estimate for full year

The Centre’s fiscal deficit constituted 5.2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of financial year 2022-23 (FY23) against the Budget Estimates (BE) of 6.4 per cent for the entire year.

Besides, there was also a fiscal surplus of almost Rs 11,000 crore in July. This implies that the Centre’s fiscal deficit was less than 5.2 per cent of GDP in the first four months of the current fiscal.

However, experts feel this does not necessarily imply that the Centre is on course to ensure the fiscal deficit is lower than the BE of 6.4 per